In Believing
by Veicht
Summary: For centuries, Heaven and Hell have been burdened by the trifles of humans. However, this will soon come to a biblical end, thrusting a young woman into the battle between these two worlds. A story of self-searching, ruthless war, and unconditional love
1. Chapter 1

1

"Foolish." a deep voice said, the man it belonged to leaning against a tree casually. His ankles crossed, as did his arms, and he turned his head to the man next to him. "I do not see how they can possibly believe worshipping shall save their souls."

"Perhaps they simply need something to place their faith in." the other reasoned. The first cocked his head, considering this possibility. A silence fell over the two as they watched the tall, catholic church and listened to the many layered choir sing loudly. The first sighed, launching himself off of the tree. Smoothly, he pulled a strand of beautifully blond hair out of his face with an elegant touch.

"I do feel a certain feeling of," his eyes were glued to the church, his arms fell to his sides and his voice remained even while he pondered. "Empathy, for them. For I too once believed that the Holy could-" The church bells had begun to ring, cutting off the man's sentence. He laughed happily and placed his hand on the other man's shoulder.

The second man, dark haired and leanly muscular, smiled adoringly at the first. "Shall we return, then? They will be expecting us."

"That we shall, brother. We would not want to keep them waiting." With one last glance toward the house of prayer, he scoffed. Looking the other man in his icy blue eyes, the first man began with a hatred clearly written in his voice. "Believe me, my love, when I tell you this: I will watch this building burn."

The unison words of the church echoed throughout the halls and high ceilings. Father Daniels walked down the aisle, smiling his warm smile and nodding graciously to those seated on the ends of the pews, his bible clutched close to his heart. His blue eyes looked to the stain glass window for just a moment before returning to his faithful followers. He adored them all, it was obvious.  
My mother took in a deep breath and closed her eyes as he passed by our row, her hands still folded in prayer as we kneeled. I could feel his eyes scorching me, attempting to look into the real reasons I still came to church at all. He wouldn t find them, I didn t even know completely. The moment he left the sanctuary, I let out a small sigh. Though Father Daniels was a great and generous man, there was something about him that made me almost loathe him. My father had placed the blame in my authority problem, which had been present since I was a little girl. It would make sense that I would despise him for his high placement in society, though I couldn t let my mind wrap around that as the reason. I had given up on trying to figure it out long ago.

The people now crashed out of the pews like waves upon the hot sand of a beach, talking amongst themselves as they always did. I found myself watching them intently, absent mindedly. I rolled my eyes while a pair of ladies passed me, staring evilly. They knew. The whole church knew, but it didn t bother me at all. Why should it bother me? As I stood, I smoothed out my skirt and smiled at Greyson when he smiled at me. Pulling my hand up to his head, I laced my fingers into his hair and shook them around, laughing a little at his now unruly hair-do. Adelaide! My mother scoffed as she reached around me, pushing me slightly out of the way, and fixing her son s hair, locking it in place with a gentle pat. There. Swaying my hips slightly to maneuver out of the closely placed pews, my feet stepped onto the carpeted aisle taking us to the back of the church. The crowd moved slowly, as it did every Sunday morning. It had been like this since I was a child, it surely wasn t going to change anytime soon. "Oh, Marian!" a woman screeched from behind us. My mother turned around, her short, brown hair moved at the motion, sending the scent of her shampoo across the aisle. My father smiled as he got a whiff of it. "Are these your children?" Finally, as Mrs. Cantani pushed past my mother, I could put a face to the voice. Her graying hair was pulled back into a tight bun, a very traditional looking necklace hung casually on her chest outside of her dark blue dress suit. Marian smiled a half hearted smile and nodded, giving a simple mmhm while Mrs. Cantani examined Greyson and I.

"Hey, Mrs. Cant-"

"Ebony, darling, Ebony!" Mrs. Cantani said, touching my cheek with her chilly hand. I looked to my father, then back to Mrs. Cantani.

"Ebony." As soon as she got the response she wanted, she spun away from me, and was immediately down to Greyson's height, poking and touching him just as she had only moments ago with me, spewing words about how much he had grown, and how she had to have us over for lunch sometime soon. She quickly lost my attention as the doors came into view. I felt my father's elbow nudge my side. I looked up into his face, and he nodded towards the doors. I smiled and laughed a little, giving him an expression that told him I already knew. He laughed.

".. Though, he looks just like Gregory." Mrs. Cantani said thoughtfully, grabbing my father's chin and moving his face this way and that. "Hmm. Well, it was nice seeing you both, children. Marian, like I said, we have to get together soon. This town is too small not to be in touch. Gregory, I hope everything goes well at the office."

"Thank you, Ebony. You, too." My father said. His voice was cool, as always, nice and even. His salt and pepper hair matched Mrs. Cantani's, which made me laugh to myself. They all eyed me curiously, I could feel myself start to blush. My father's cheekbones were unusually high, very defined. His broad shoulders helped his height and weight in giving him that tough guy look that made him the apple of a lot of women's eyes in our tiny community. He wore informal clothing, even when going to church, and had his hands in his pockets most of the time. Not a complex man, though not simple, Greg Nyles was my favorite person to just sit with.

Mrs. Cantani hurried out the doors ahead of us, I followed close on her heels. The faster I would get out of that church, the better. I didn't hate the building, it was really just that, a building and hating a building would be rather ridiculous, in my opinion. Once outside, the cold wind blew my hair into my face. After a minute of struggling against nature to keep my dark locks of hair out of my eyes, I gave in and let them flail similar to Medusa's snakes. Greyson's little hand took hold of mine, and a giggle came from him after he caught sight of my alive mane. I scrunched my nose up, and shook my head at him. "You think I'm funny? Huh?"

"Yes!" he laughed. I scooped him up into my arms, and propped him up onto my hip while we waited, touching his nose and letting him swat my hand away. Finally, the crowd dispersed, and a path to the parking lot opened up. Quickly I seized the opportunity to find a way through the maze of people, running down the stairs of the church and onto the sidewalk below, making engine noises to amuse Greyson. He giggled, hiding his face in my neck until we stopped. His green eyes looked up into my own matching eyes, and he cooed. I kissed his forehead gently and put him down on the ground, to run to our parents who were only just reaching the bottom of the stairs. It was times like these that made me thankful I was not forced me to ride with them to church anymore.  
I waved to them, curving around to walk away from the House of God to the familiarity of my black Magentis. Routinely, I unlocked the door from a few feet away, taking off my low heeled shoes and opening the door, throwing the heels into the passenger seat as soon as the door was ajar. My fingers fumbled through the many odd items attached to the ring of my keys, eventually touching the key that would bring my darling car to life. A feeling of relief rolled through my body at the sound of the engine and the tires gliding over the concrete below. I had always prided myself on the vehicle I had. Fairly new, leather interior, amazing stereo. The radio, set to my favorite oldies rock station, played a classic Guns 'n' Roses song. I beamed and began singing along, I knew every word like it was something I had said every day for the entirety of my life.

Today would be a slow day, I thought to myself. It was comforting to know that I didn t have anything set to do, that I could lounge if I wanted to, or I could simply not return home, and adventure for as long as I saw fit. 18 was a wonderful age, and I intended to live it as wonderfully as possible. At this point, I had no idea what thinking like that would bring.

The road stretched out in front of me for endless miles, everything still and calm. I had turned the radio off almost an hour ago. Music just didn't seem to fit me at the moment. The silence filled the air and left a feeling of serenity in its wake, which I loved. A sigh escaped my plump lips, they slowly curved upward. Everything about being alone on an afternoon drive alleviated me, yet destroyed me. Eventually, I would not be in my nirvana, I would be back to the same bad situation I am forced to live in.

I had obliviously driven to my best friend's apartment. When I truly noticed that I was sitting outside of the complex, I cut the engine and arched my back, reaching my right arm over the passenger seat and into the back of the car, grabbing the rugged duffel bag that waited patiently on the seat. The tips of my fingers touched it a few times before I was able to grab a hold of the strap and pull it into my lap. I grinned at the inanimate object, unzipping it to show the street clothes I kept with me at all times. I threw a few articles of clothing out of the bag, a pair of jeans, a purple t-shirt, and socks, and began shuffling out of the skirt that clung to my thighs. The many years of having to change in a car had turned me into a pro, I didn't even hit the steer wheel anymore. When I had the skirt off, I pulled the jeans to me. Sliding each leg into the correct places, the cell phone in my center counsel began to vibrate loudly. I quickened my pace, finishing with the button a few seconds later. My long arm moved over the car, grabbing the phone and bringing it up to see who was that was calling. The name flashed across the screen over and over. Lori Home Calling. "Hello?" I spoke into the speaker after pressing the answer button. I wedged the cell phone between my ear and shoulder, attempting to pull the other arm through the holes of the dress shirt while she replied.

"What're you doing just sitting out there? It's kind of creepy, you know."

I laughed. "Sorry, I'm changing really quick. Church." Realizing I couldn t multi-task, I pulled the phone from its resting place and turned on the speaker phone, placing it back in the center counsel. "I'll be in soon."

"Okay, hurry. There's this crazy show on the history channel Drew's got me watching." I scowled when she nonchalantly warned me her fussy boyfriend was visiting. I had accomplished getting re-dressed, I now searched for the pair of converse that I had worn out of the house that morning. They were where the passenger's feet would have gone.

"What's it about?"

"The fight for Heaven, or at least, that's what Drew says." She began to whisper. "Honestly, I'm not watching. I need something to distract me! Get in here!"

I snickered. "All right putting on my shoes. See you." She hung up. I briefly checked myself in the rearview mirror, and ran my hands through my frizzy hair. I scanned the door with my hand without looking, searching for the handle to let myself out. I forgot how stingy of a place Lori's apartment building was. Walking up the stairs, I was reminded by the webs and insects crawling about. I groaned, a crunch came from the bottom of my shoe. I wouldn't dare look. Room 201 came into view at last, I walked in without knocking.

Lori's home reminded me a lot of the typical college dorm. Tons of color exploded before whoever walked in, with the shag rugs of pinks and blues, bean-bag chairs in almost every corner. Drew sat on a black futon in front of the big screen TV, his feet placed on the glass coffee table in between the two pieces of furniture. I threw my car keys into the glass bowl on the buffet in the entranceway and took a left through the opened door to the kitchen. The stainless steel appliances gleamed in the sunlight coming from the window above the sink, Drew had cleaned, no doubt. Lori sat at the round, wooden kitchen table, her legs crossed and her fingers tracing the rim of her glass filled with iced tea. Her hair was pulled back casually into a loose ponytail. She probably hadn't been out of the house yet.

"Hey," I said, taking a seat across the table from her.

"Hey." Her voice seemed lazy, like she had just rolled out of bed. I considered the possibility, and realized she probably had. "How was church?"

"How do you think?" I could hear the sarcastic edge in my voice that I hadn't intended to be there. It made her laugh.

"That's true." From the kitchen, one had a straight view into the living room. I looked through the second door and at Drew, who still hadn't moved since I arrived. He didn't give me a greeting, nor would he until I struck up conversation with him. It amazed me how, after four years of dating Lori, he still couldn't get over his extreme shyness. Maybe that's why they worked so well, complete opposites. Like a negative charge and a positive charge, they just went to each other, cancelled each other out. The television volume was down to a reasonable level, though I could hear the words of the narrator. Lori must have seen that I was staring, she reached over and touched my arm.

"You still with me, Ad?" I was brought back down from my gaze, thankfully, I looked at my best friend. She flashed me a toothy grin, which I hesitantly returned. She rolled her eyes.

"Really? I swear, sometimes I think you and Drew were made for each other."

"Sorry" I apologized. I truly was sorry, I couldn't help but be drawn in by the images across the screen. Something about the combination of footage and the man's voice made me want to sit and listen. I didn't plan on talking to Drew at all, but I knew that if I wanted to watch, I would have to say at least something to him. Lori was disappointed, but she stood, taking me into the living room with her.

"Hello, Drew." I mumbled while taking a spot in the rocking chair halfway across the room from him. He looked at me with his always grumpy eyes, and nodded. For a man, he looked extremely feminine. His lips, about the same size as my own, were pouted. His nose curved up at the end slightly, somehow making his eyes look larger than they really were. Unlike most men, his jaw was curved very gently, and his neck wasn't particularly thick. His shoulders, one of the only manly things about him, were square, his posture perfect. Even if I didn't already know it to be fact, I would assume he was, or had been at one time, in the army.

"Hello, Adelaide." Drew was always polite. The only person I had ever seen him relax in front of was his beloved girlfriend, and my best friend. When she entered the room, his face lit up. It was apparent that he was trying extremely hard not to let himself jump up and embrace her. Instead, he settled for touching her arm as she sat down next to him. They exchanged a look, before she glanced over at me.

"What're we watching?" I asked. My eyes were on Lori, but the question was directed to Drew.

"It's about when Lucifer fell." He answered simply. Lori had opened and turned on her laptop computer, and typed away on the keyboard. The little clicking noises almost seemed like a low buzz, her fingers moved so swiftly and quickly over them. Every once in a while she would pause to catch a glimpse of the program that had captured both Drew and I. The hour that passed while I learned was one of the more valuable hours I had spent that day. It didn't go by fast, but it didn't really go by slowly either. I definitely hadn't spoken to Drew as much as I had during the show, and I realized that underneath it all, he wasn't that bad of a guy. I could see why Lori would be in love with him. She had fallen asleep cuddled up to Drew, her laptop at her feet. Gradually, he seized the computer away, and placed it on the glass table. When I looked at the clock on my cell phone, it hit me. I had been at their apartment watching these informational programs with him since 2:30, it was now 8:00 in the evening. I would arrive home, if I left that second, at around 9. I let my head fall forward, my hair falling around my face. I brought my hands up to my eyes and rubbed them roughly, then rubbing my temples. I sat there for a while, until Drew placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You're welcome to stay, if you'd like." He whispered. I looked up and saw that he had carried Lori into her room. I looked at him, he chuckled. "You're exhausted, to say the least. I know it's not exactly my place to offer, but I know Lori wouldn't mind."

"Yeah, you know I think I might." I went to stand up, but fell back down onto the rocking chair feebly. Graciously, he took my arm and helped me keep my balance while I stood. I smiled and nodded in thanks to him.

"Are you staying?"

"Probably. Do you want the second bedroom?" I asked. I motioned to the futon. "I can take the-"

"No, you take the bedroom. I'll just slide into bed with Mrs. Sleepy in there." He pointed his thumb toward the bedroom, I laughed. That wasn't funny, I must have been sleep deprived. A thud came from the floor, our gazes both fell. He sighed. When our eyes found each other again, he shrugged. "New tenants below us. I haven't met them yet, but Lori says they move things around a lot."

"Trying to find the right look?" I asked, trying to excuse the behavior of people I hadn t even met.

"Sounds more like they're just fickle." I acknowledged his idea, and walked around him, attempting to be as polite as I knew he would be to me. I turned and walked backward, keeping my front facing him. "Uh," I lifted my hands to my torso and clapped them together, my lips pursed and smiled for a split second before I dropped my hands to my thighs. "I'm going to go to sleep. Thanks, I mean, tonight was fun. Good night."

"Yeah, it was." He agreed awkwardly. "Good night."

I turned around, leaving him standing in the living room, walked into the hallway, and opened the door to the second bedroom of the apartment. It was simple, as it had been since Lori moved in. It kept the colorful theme alive, the bedspread a brilliant red with blue and tan stripes. The floor was wooden, stained beautifully. A few rugs were laid to the side of the bed that was pushed against the wall in the corner. A night table stood with its lamp turned off next to the headboard. A small dresser stood next to the only window in the room opposite the twin sized mattress. The looks of the room didn t really matter to me. All I wanted was to lay down, and sleep.

I quickly rid myself of the jeans that clung to my legs and hips, and rolled up the sleeves of the cotton shirt. In a moment's time, I had crawled into the comfortable bed, and curled up, clutching the blankets. Once in a while, the sound of furniture being moved in the apartment below would ring up into this room. I rolled over, and decided to ignore it. Soon, I was drifting to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

It was raining. The drops came down to Earth as steadily as the wind blew, each complimenting the other, each harshly ripping at the two men that walked down the street in a hurried fashion, pretending to ignore the severe weather. The taller of the two walked with long strides, so graceful were his movements that the other seemed to be stumbling oafishly. In reality, the two moved with such ease that the trees and various vegetation seemed to bow before them.

They walked with a silent determination up the many stars of an extravagant home, occasionally looking up to gauge how much farther the door waited. The French doors themselves were beautiful, surrounded by an intricately carved trim and guarded by twin oriental lions. The Corinthian columns of the porch were a gorgeous contrast, the whole building covered with he veil of age, the wear of knowledge.

The smaller man opened the door courteously, motioning for the other to enter ahead of him. Quickly, the man leapt inside, closely followed by his comrade.

The lights sprang up with their entrance, showing the soaking bodies of two good-looking men who shook off their coats and pulled at their sleeves. They dressed simply, each in a loose white blouse which tied at he chest and gathered at the wrists, paired with waist-height pants that silhouetted their muscular legs perfectly. The bottoms tucked into their custom boots that pounded against the marble floors as they walked through the large foyer into a romantic study.

There, seated patiently, sat many diverse humanoids, eyes fixed on the door as the two entered. The taller continued to walk about he room as the other sat, politely and quietly acknowledging anyone who caught his ravishing gaze. A sort of swoon came over those he nodded to, a dream-like whisper touching their skin, giving them chills.

The silence bore down on them all, it was obvious the blond man, the only one standing now, was a man of few words. His dominating presence loomed over them all, as he gathered his thoughts, his hands carefully aced together behind his back while he paced in front of the roaring fire. "You are aware," he began, ceasing his movements and positioning himself toward his crowd, a smirk laid clearly on his velvet lips, "I have been quite busy."

Several grunts came in agreement, a few chuckles scattered about the room. "I must inquire, however, if I have been laying my focuses in the improper places." The dark haired man stared at his friend in panic. Hadn't they just finished debating this very thing? And had they not come to an indisputable conclusion? He sighed, watching as the blond strode over to the empty seat at he head of the long table and sat.

_Darling Lucifer, you are quite the man._

A tiny laugh came from the brunette then, and he swiftly bowed his head to hide the grin that emerged unwillingly.

The night had passed too quickly, it seemed, and altogether nothing had been accomplished. The sun was just beginning to taint the night sky with its light. Reds, oranges, yellows, all exploding simultaneously to create the morning. The sun itself was just awakening it seemed, as it lazily crept over the landscape. The brunette, resting his elbows on the waist high railing of his balcony, watched the colors intently with eyes of the bluest shade, frozen, it seemed, giving them a glacial look to them. His eyes, a most unnatural, pale blue, ran over the scene. He found himself examining them, memorizing and appreciating them. It disgusted him how much he had taken for granted in a previous life. Without any sort of urgency, he inhaled deeply, standing straight up and grasping the railing in his palms now. He stretched his arms, moving away from the edge as he dropped his right hand. With one last glance at the beautiful eruption, he retreated into his bedroom.

Finding an ironic humor while laying in the cloudy bed, the brunette stared at the ceiling as he had most dawns, simply listening to the sounds around him and calculating each thing he planned to do during the day. Lucifer would surely have some trivial task for him. The man's chest rose and fell with each breath he took, having no real reason for this motion. He laughed a little at just how human he had become lately. Was it truly involuntary?

A strange, yet familiar, feeling came over him. The hair on his arms and neck stood, a slight moan came from the bottom of his stomach and darted through his throat and out of his beautiful mouth. His eyes shut then opened sharply, pupils dialating violently. He sighed. Dark hair fell into his eyes as he stood from the bed. His long fingers brushed it away, all of his movements seemed to have a higher purpose, as if he moved with a silent reserve to accomplish something better than himself. His sleeves brushed gently against the torso of the cloth, creating a soft brushing sound that filled the empty corridors. Eventually, he reached the large doors he sought.

Three times he knocked loudly, a firm fist coming down on the large oak doors. "Come."

The brunette opened the doors and entered comfortably. "Ahh, I have something for you, my love." Lucifer purred, standing and walking over to the brunette, who returned the smile on Lucifer's face.

"I can see in your eyes that this is no ordinary ordeal."

"_Immo,_ brother. _Immo._"

The sun burst through the window of the Lori's guest bedroom. The light hit my eyes perfectly and I grunted, thrusting the thick blankets over my eyes and rolling over to put my back to the window. It was ridiculous to me to have to be up when the sun decided, yet I knew that I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. Waving my mental white flag, I swung my legs around the side of the bed and rubbed my eyes, no doubt smearing my makeup. My fingers ran through my hair, attempting to tame the wild bed-head. A horrid scraping sound came from the floor.

I was suddenly reminded of the people in the apartment below, moving and re-moving their furniture time after time. I felt their pain, I knew how annoying moving truly was. The smell of bacon and eggs flooded my nose and I found myself gravitating toward the door. My bare feet took me to the kitchen where Lori and Drew sat at the table, eating in silence while they smiled at each other with every bite. I felt awkward, the third wheel all over again. It was this way before graduation, too. I frowned and walked over to the empty seat at the table. "Good morning." Lori beamed.

"Morning.." I mumbled, shoving a piece of toast into my mouth only to be forced to take some of it out. I stared at the half eaten toast in my hand, and threw it back onto the plate. I had to admit, sometimes, I was simply gross. Lori poured me a glass of orange juice from a clear, glass pitcher that had been stationed at the center of the table. I nodded in thanks, picking it up, waiting for myself to finish chewing to take a swig of the citrus.

"How did you sleep?" Lori asked, a genuine curiosity in her voice. I shrugged.

"Fine, pretty good, actually." My eyes found hers and she held them for a long time.

"What are your plans for today?" She batted her eyelashes like she always did when she wanted something. I sighed.

"Nothing, why?"

"Could you watch the house for a few hours? Drew and I are going out." She smiled at Drew who nodded and gave a sideways smile back, bringing his fork to his mouth to devour a piece of egg.

"Sure." An ecstatic Lori jumped out of her seat, throwing her robe off to reveal herself already dressed. The pulled her hair out of the ribbon that held it back and let her blonde curls fall. I couldn't help but smile, Drew even chuckled. In ten minutes time, I was alone in the small apartment.

Boredom hit me like a ton of bricks, I found myself doing odd things to keep myself occupied throughout the day. Stacking dominos only to push them over, laying upside down on various pieces of furniture, rummaging through drawers to see what I would find. For hours, all was well, seemingly normal.

At 4:35, a scream deafened me. My eyes darted in the direction of the guest bedroom, my heart starting to pound. I was seated on the couch, upside down, my hair falling and laying on the wooden floor. I wanted to move, to sit up and investigate, but the echo of the terrified wail left me paralysed. It had come from the room I slept in that night and that disturbed me slightly.

After a few minutes, I found the use of my limbs had returned, and I propped myself upright against the back of the black futon. While I looked around the room, my eyes not really seeing, I strained myself to hear any indication that something was off. While my eyes examined the room, I noticed I was still dressed in the clothing from the day before. I laughed.

My laughter mixed with another blood curdling scream, my body struck up immediately. It had come from the floor this time, from the apartment below. It didn't stop this time, though. It continued, horrifically, for what seemed like an eternity. My fight or flight senses kicked in, and regrettably, I decided to fight.

I ran for the door, the scream still filling the high ceilings of the staircase. Running past several doors, an undescribable feeling rushing through my veins, my mind seemed to blur. What exactly was I doing? What did I plan to do? All I knew was my legs brought me closer and closer to a situation I knew nothing about, a situation that I could, most likely, do nothing to fix. My rational thinking told me to stop where I stood, my irrational pride told me to keep going.

My pride won. It was odd, like it wasn't really me running frantically around the curve of the stairs, passing an apartment door. Quickly calculating, I knew this particular apartment wouldn't fall underneath Lori's, so I kept running. It was obvious at that point that I wouldn't be stopping. I began to plan what I would do upon arriving at the door which hid the screams, and prayed that I wouldn't be throwing myself into a situation that I couldn't handle.

It dawned on me when my hand reached up to knock on the door that this could very well be something that could hurt me, could put me in danger. I wanted more than anything to turn around, to run away, just as the door opened.

A wave of relief flooded over me when the door revealed a creamy sweater, which was indeed NOT stained with blood. Without warning, I was struck by the stunning man before me.

A long, manly hand held the doorknob carelessly, keeping the door from moving out of his grip. From there, my eyes travelled up his defined arms to his perfect chest, the sweater clinging to him in all of the right places. His torso stretched for miles, he was perfectly proportioned. He wore dark, faded jeans that hung from his hip bones perfectly, an extremely thin line between his sweater and jeans exposed the slightest amount of skin. My prying eyes detected it almost immediately. He had legs that matched his arms in definition, he had the body of a devoted athlete. A wrestler, maybe? No, there was no body to compare this to, I realized. His feet were clad in sleek, black shoes, the laces covered gently by the bottom of his jeans. "Hello." He said.

God, his voice was so smooth. It poured from his lips like water from a fountain, it was deep, sensual, exciting. I wanted to hear him speak again, my eyes darted to his mouth. I was shocked.

His build was nothing compared to his angellic face. There was no doubt in my mind, now, that he was a statue brought to life. His jawline was gentle, yet masculine, a perfect combination that flowed easily into his thick neck, which flowed, in turn, to his broad shoulders. His dark brown hair fell past his chin, straight but so soft, not harsh in the slightest. His nose had a slight upturn to it, his lower lip had the ideal plumpness. His cupid's bow seemed magnificent to me, for some reason. My eyes lingered, however, on his eyes.

I searched desperately for some way to describe his eyes, but I found nothing. His blue eyes, so blue... I questioned myself only momentarily as they stared back, perhaps they were silver. _No, they are most definitely blue._ I thought. Yet, they were so pale, almost white with blue outlines. I stared, trying to find a name for this color. I didn't have one. They were icy, harsh, understanding, curious, so many things that my mind swam with different adjectives. I inhaled deeply as he spoke again. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," I answered, blinking. I had come here for the screams. Ask him about the screams. I motioned up to the ceiling, his chin turned upward and his eyes followed my hand. "My friend, well, I was.... Um..." I closed my eyes and shook my head. I sounded pathetic. I laughed a little at my own mistake, he smiled patiently. "I heard screams."

"You heard them, too, then?" He said, his words combining as if he were singing to me. He leaned against the doorway and crossed his legs at his ankles, folding his arms across his chest. "I had begun to believe I was the only one."

"Someone was screaming in your apartment, but you didn't know...?" My question was stupid, I deserved his chiming laughter. It was intoxicating. I laughed nervously with him. A question burned in me, I just had to know... "What's your name?"

"Isn't it polite to offer your name before asking another's?" He asked, smirking down at me. Footsteps echoed from the bottom of the stairs, yet his eyes remained on mine. Mine, however, looked toward the staircase. Lori's voice was carrying through the open area. I fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Adelaide." I said quickly, waiting for him to return my gesture with a name. I was suddenly unconcerned about Lori's coming, I began pondering what name could possibly fit this alluring stranger.

"Adelaide." He repeated. "I shall remember the name."

"And yours is..." I trailed off, looking toward the stairs.

"Are you pressed for time?" He deflected, smiling and adjusting his stance. His hair swayed, I nearly swooned.

"Um.. Kind of." I said, again looking to him, waiting for a name.

"Then I won't keep you any longer." He said, placing a hand on the doorknob once again. "It was nice to meet you, Adelaide."

"Wait!" I said, the frustration clear in my voice as he began to close the door. Innocently, he peered out at me. His eyes burned into me, my stomach turned over, my insides crawled inside of me. I wanted to moan... "What about, the screams? Your name?"

"Hmm." He said, appearing to genuinely think about it. He turned back to me and smiled. "We will have to discuss that further some day."

The door closed behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke with a start, shooting straight up into the dark. My chest heaved with each breath I took, I could feel the sweat pouring from my face, trailing gently down the contours of my neck. I'd had yet another nightmare that night.

My hands shook as I ran my fingers through my hair, causing ripples to flow down through my hair, making the auburn strands glisten in the light coming in through the window. The moon had been so bright the past few nights, it seemed almost unbearable. The nightmares continued to come, relentless in their terror, constantly reminding me that I knew nothing about the man that lived underneath my best friend. I left her there, with a potentially dangerous man. How could I possibly do that?

Lori had said screams continued to come from his apartment. Everytime Drew would go down to investigate, the man would insist that no such sound had come from his apartment, and to perhaps try to apartment below his. Drew, of course, never had argued with him. Part of me wished he had.

And yet, the other half was glad he didn't. This stranger, whom I had only met once, enticed me. He rose curiosity in me like nothing ever had, I had been thinking of him for the past two weeks.

A spider had begun to spin a web in the corner of my room. I watched it as it worked diligently, the moonlight shining off the silvery material being spun into a home. My skin looked pale in the darkness as I examined my sweating hands. Disgusted, I wiped them casually on the large comforter, allowing my eyes to trail back to that single spider. It had become obvious I wouldn't be falling back asleep, I was being haunted by the visions I had just seen.

The same dream, over and over, every night for what seemed an eternity. It began, each time, with the sound of solitary footsteps, slowly, the sound of rain would chime in, and an image would start to form. An old street, brick, wet, dark. The footsteps continued to echo throughout the alley shown to me, getting louder and louder yet. I stood there, not daring to move. An unrequited horror would surge through my veins when the man would turn the corner into the alley I stood in. Slowly, relief would flood in.

It was the man from the apartment. Harmless, smiling at me from afar. I would smile back, happy to see him instead of some bloodied mess. His head would shake with that silly smirk on his face, silently laughing at my unnecessary fear. He began striding toward me.

The scent of his cologne filled me with his every move, it was so sweet, so seductive. I sighed, my eyes closing as his arms wrapped around my waist. There was something about the way he held me, firm but gentle, pulling our bodies together. Mine, however, went numb. My head flew back out of weariness, and his lips descended.

When the dreams had begun, I had stupidly assumed my subconscious was trying to tell me something, that perhaps, this man was a vampire. I quickly thrust that idea aside, this wasn't some sci-fi movie, nor was it the Twilight books. There would not be a vampire to sweep me off my feet, to keep me free from any harm. As the nights progressed, however, so did the dream, showing me more and more.

As his lips touched my throat, my fingers ran through his hair. The feeling had come back to my body, my mind was still a blur. I could hear his breathing, low and concentrated, being careful with every move. He chuckled, then, his nose grazing my earlobe as he nuzzled himself into my hair. It made me shiver.

"Wait," I would murmur, attempting to push him away. I always failed. "I don't even know your name."

"Devon." He would say each time. Devon was my favorite name, I sighed in ecstasy as his tongue would slowly run down my neck and stop on my collarbones, there, he would mumble something, his voice almost inaudible. "What?"

He repeated again.

I had stayed up many nights debating what he was saying to me, my imagination telling me things from "I love you" to "Dirty slut." I realized it was most likely neither extreme, but something in the middle. Unfortunately, I never knew what exactly he was saying.

On the fifth night of having this dream, after he would mumble that unknown sentence to me the second time, he pulled away. His shocking blue eyes stared into my ordinary green, I gasped. It happened so fast, now. As his hands came up, caressing the sides of my faces, I closed my eyes. "Are you afraid?" he asked. Somehow, I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Yes." I answered truthfully, yet acceptance flowed through my body. He nodded, and laid his lips onto mine. We engaged in a passionate kiss before his hands grasped my head tightly, and twisted violently.

Devon's hands released me, letting my body flop to the ground. It laid there, pristine, delicate, dead, at his feet.

I believed this to be the end of the dream for so long. I would wake up, hands sweating, neck aching, not remembering if the dream had been real, or just that, a dream. Such vivid a dream should not be in existence. On the 13th night of having this dream, however, it continued.

My body laid there, next to his shined black boots, his dark jeans. His gaze would stare, not regretting what he had done at all. After quite some time of simply watching, as if he expected my corpse to rise, he took in a deep breath. A second man came up from behind him, placing his hand on Devon's shoulder. Devon turned his head, looking at him gracefully. "Well done." I recognized the voice. "But not quite how I was taught."

It was Drew, Lori's boyfriend, a man I thought to be my friend. The two shared a quick, light hearted laugh before going to their knees, and touching my arms and legs, checking the temperature of my body. "Perfect." Devon would say, astonished, before sinking his teeth into my right forearm deeply. As he ripped the flesh away, his eyes rolled into the back of his head. The blood flew from his mouth as he moaned loudly, and eventually, Drew joined him.

I had woken up screaming that night. My mother sat on the edge of my bed, holding me while I cried. She asked me what was wrong, what I had dreamed about, I couldn't speak. My father joined her, stroking my hair, cooing sweet things meant to soothe me. It was disgusting, my arm stung, my neck felt unnatural, I hadn't slept for two days after that night.

Now, though, I had become accustomed to seeing myself murdered and eaten. It was the norm, and I was disgusted by this. Tomorrow was Saturday, Lori's birthday. I would have to go to that place, possibly see the man I knew as Devon. It was only a dream, I reminded myself as the spider spun another layer.

The apartment complex seemed especially dreary. I walked up the stairs slowly, my eyes wandering here and there, thinking of what exactly I would say to Lori. I didn't want to stay long at all. I knew Drew would be there, the mere thought of seeing him in person terrified me. I knew he would most likely never hurt me, he was a man of high moral values, raised on the traditional way of thinking. Hurting a woman would never be an acceptable thing for him, however, something inside of me told me that it simply was not safe to be in this building on this day.

The various sounds of the complex reminded me of a calming song, relaxing me somehow, assuring that this experience would not prove to be as horrible as I expected it to be. I took a deep breath in, ascending the stairs to the third level. The golden letters of Devon's door glistened against my pupils, they held my anxious gaze like a magnet, I couldn't hope to look away. Horror, fear, an intricate mixture of emotions flooded into me upon seeing him taking the last steps down the staircase from the floor above, meeting me in the very center of this narrow hall. I felt as though I should scream.

The anxiety grew like multiplying bacteria, his beautiful eyes, that preternatural stare, fell on me with the weight of a thousand concrete stones. I melted instantly. It was strange, however, the way he glanced at me. I had foolishly expected his eyes to be filled with a passion that couldn't be denied, though they weren't. I expected his body to curl to mine, bending into a loving cares while his arms snaked around my wait, no such thing happened. His hands sifted through the envelopes he held, his lips tightened slightly in acknowledgement toward me, before he disappeared behind his apartment door without saying a word. The fear and horror turned to confusion and disappointment, this was the second time I had seen that gorgeous man dismiss me and flee behind his door.

I assumed he had forgotten me, my bare legs continued up the stairs as my skirt swayed with my hips, my mind racing with memories of the nightmares.

Lori sighed, her eyebrows pulled together in an uncomfortable way, her fingers tracing the rim of her tea cup. Her movements were bothered, it was obvious to both Drew and myself. Drew nodded as I finished explaining my recurring dream in monstrous detail. "I knew something was different about him." he shook his head, leaning back in his seat while simultaneously lifting the front two legs of the wooden chair. "But you really have no reason to think I would ever-"

"No, no." I interrupted, waving the hand that no longer held my cup. My eyes closed, gathering my thoughts, only to have them shoot open again at the vision of that one superb man. "I know you would never..."

"Neither would Lev." Lori mumbled sweetly, her eyes innocently glued to her calming herbal tea. While my eyes locked on hers, I knew there was something else she longed to say, her lips curling inward as her tongue glazed over them, attempting to keep the words inside. She breathed easily, yet it was a forced action.

Drew and I gaped at her, mutual feelings of disbelief in our stomachs. How could she possibly defend a man she didn't know? Why would she be a voucher of character for someone she knew nothing about? She looked up at us with an earnest smile and stared back at her two best friends. A sudden thought hit me, Lev was Devon's real name. My eyes turned to look at he incorrect clock on the kitchen stove as I pondered this, Lev seemed to suit him much better, anyway.

"He's really a gentleman." Lori began, a strength in her voice I didn't expect, one that wasn't there a moment ago. "He held the door for me while I carried in the groceries on Wednesday. He even offered to carry them."

Drew shot Lori a look of utter betrayal, her jingling words only singing th eman's praises, I could see how this would hurt his pride. She seemed to gradually slip into her own state of being while she shared her recollections. She smiled, looking down at her untouched tea again. "You really shouldn't worry about him at all."

Drew's face had turned a pale shade of red, a large vein in his forehead pulsed. "He murdered and _ate_ Adelaide!" he boomed, yelling as if I weren't at the table with them, as if I were dead and long gone.

"In a dream!" Lori yelled back, her mind made up about the occupant of 413. Even i the present situation, I felt uncomfortable as Lori and Drew continued their heated argument. I shrank in my seat, regretting having brought up the dream at all.

"You're just not willing to accept that he's harmless." Lori said, ending the dispute and turnig to me. "Trust me, ad, he would never hurt you."

Her eyes burned into mine, sending me a secret mesage that I didn't understand. I nodded once, and rose to refill the empty cup with coffee that I had been sipping at nervously while the couple had fought. Drew stood with me, exiting the room and flipping on the television to cool down. Lori rubbed her eyes, smearing her mascara slightly. "You believe me, don't you?"

I felt like she was a small child, asking if I believed her account of seeing Santa Claus, or Big Foot. I nodded, still pouring the coffee from the pot. "I believe you." I lied. Thankfully, she didn't press the matter.

Despite my earlier plans, I had spent the day in that tiny apartment, listening to Lori tell me about her week, how eventful things were becoming at work, and the complaints she had about Drew. It was a good day, overall, which left me feeling drowsy as I descended the stairs of the complex and headed out he door to the parking lot.

The night was serene, a gentle, warm breeze moved my skirt as I walked, not entirely aware of what was happening around me. A man and his family pulled into the parking lot, he stepped out of the driver's seat and rotated around to help his wife take their baby daughter out of the car seat in the back. He smiled at the baby, the mother sticking her index finger into the little girl's face, generating a loud laugh. I smiled.

The walk to my car seemed exceptionally long. My freezing legs stepped into the black car, my left leg remaining connected to the cement of the parking lot while my clumsy fingers fumbled with the keys in the ignition. The engine roared to life as I shut the door, pulling my leg back into the warmth of the magentis. I yawned, the feeling flowing through my body, relief, renewed. I smiled.

The smile faded, my eyes widened slowly. Time seemed to stop, my body seemed to move in slow motion as I threw my hands to the handle, thrusting the door open and rocketing out of the car, my mouth wide with my shriek. Exhaustion caught hold of my motor skills, the tip of my shoe catching on the inside of the vehicle, and I came crashing down to the ground. My heart was clearly audible in my ears, the thuds coming faster and faster, the beat rising with my breathing. My scream became a procession of short, throaty grunts as I twisted my body to release the shoe.

The lower half of my body had failed me. I tried to stand, to get up and run away from the bloody symbols painted on every inch of my car, but I could not. My arms pulled me, my knees helping slightly as I swam in the puddles left from the night before. It had been raining for a week, tonight, I noticed, was the first night it had not been pouring. I was instantly thankful for that.

I realized after what seemed like an eon that I hadn't gotten far from the car at all, that it was still hauntingly close to me. Liquids dropped from underneath the car, the driver's door, everywhere. I screamed again, even from here I could see the mutilated animal on the passenger seat. Disturbed, I saw that it was not only the interior that had been painted with these foul symbols, but the outside, too, was filled with the same symbol.

The crude crimson circles stood out oddly against the black car, showing themselves, looming as if they would spring from the side of the vehicle and come at me. Inside of them, crude stars shone just as brightly, creating perfect pentagrams.

My body shook, my breathing shook, my voice shook, it seemed like my vision was beginning to shake as two strong hands pulled me to my feet, dragging me back toward the apartment building. Eventually, they gave up, and I felt the ground leave me, my feet still searching for the ground clumsily. I grunted, squealed, and screamed into this person as they carried me across the threshold. The soft coos did nothing to take away the sight of the animal, I wasn't able to determine exactly what animal it was, seated obscurely on the seat next to me. I hadn't seen then, though, the blood on my hands from the steering wheel, the ignition, the door, every inch of my poor car had been covered. I began to hyperventilate.

"Now," the man began, "You have to calm down, Adelaide." My eyes looked up reflexively at the sound of my name, a new terror filling me. Honestly? Of course I had to be cradled in the strong arms of the man I now knew as Lev, his concerned eyes looking back into mine. "I can't help you unless you calm down, you see."

A fresh round of screams bellowed from me, as he set me down on the ground, ruining his most likely very expensive jeans by kneeling on the dirty floor next to me. I scrambled away, feeling like a mouse running helplessly from a cat while bloody and bruised, a last attempt at staying alive. His eyebrows raised, his mouth relaxed, then turn upward slightly into a small smile. Friendly, though, not sinister in the least. I looked at him from across the room, his inviting hand reached out toward me. "It's all right now, whatever was out there cannot do anything to you here." He extended his hand a small amount more. "I swear."

We sat there, staring at each other, a situation that, with most people, would have been extremely awkward. I felt incredibly comfortable against the stairs of the apartment building, though. In this small hallway, a poor choice by the architect, I felt somewhat protected. The horror-film-like vision burned in my skull, however, flashing itself before me every once in a while. I cringed every time. "My name is Lev, by the way."

Lev had taken the Indian-style stance in the moments I had looked away from him. He sat with perfect posture, his hands on his knees, somehow, he looked remarkably casual. His expression no longer held the tiny smile, but was replaced by a blank sort of expression. No, I shook the thought out of my mind, no one should ever use the word blank when describing him.

"I know."I whispered back. It was a miracle he heard me.

"Would you like to come inside? I imagine you're quite cold siting against the wall like that. They're thin, as you can probably tell." I didn't feel the cold hardness of the wall against my back until he had mentioned it. My back now ached with the freezing air, and I nodded.

Cautiously, he approached me. I had stood, expecting to be lead inside, while in actuality, he planned to carry me. I let him, no objections coming from me. I nuzzled into his neck before realizing how inappropriate it was, then remembered. "My car-" I blurted. He stopped.

His curious eyes looked down at me. "Your car?"

"Yeah..." I whimpered, remembering the scene once more. "It was bloody."

"Bloody." he repeated, a slight inquisitive tone to his voice. I nodded. He paused, thinking for a minute before turning around and heading back down the stairs. "I'm going to go out and look, you can stay in here, if you'd like. My apartment is just up there, on the third floor."

"I know." I knew how creepy I must have sounded, but I didn't care. "If you don't mind, I'd like to come with...."

That had surprised him. "If you truly think you're up to it." I was.

The walk to my car didn't seem as long this time around, the night was just as calm, the various birds and insects creating a chorus to our footsteps. I looked up at him only once, stealing a glance at him before turning back to look at my feet. He smiled, feeling my eyes on him. I smiled to myself, my car coming into sight.

It was astonishing how irate I became in a matter of seconds. My feet carried me the last few feet so my hands could clasp to the cold metal of the hood, running my palms over the surface over and over, searching. The symbols had gone, leaving no trace behind. I looked at my hands, the dried blood peeling off. I groaned, remembering the animal in the passenger's seat. I pointed to it, motioning that there had been something there. He nodded, looking extremely serious as he walked around me, placing his hands on the curve of my torso to gently push me out of harm's way, if there were any harm at all. Opening the door, his body bent to look inside.

The suspense grew inside of me, I felt that if the mamed beast had somehow disappeared too, I would go crazy. I knew what I saw, I knew what I felt, the blood on my hands proved that I was not insane. Part of me wondered, though, if I had imagined the whole thing...

Lev stood up straight, his gentle eyes looking over my way. The side of his mouth pulled up into an understanding grin, his eyebrows pulling in and up slightly. He shook his head, the shaggy hair attached swung this way and that ever so slightly with the movements, his maroon sweater moving perfectly in sync with his body as he shut the car door and walked back over to me. I was going to cry.

"If it counts for anything," he muttered once he was standing in front of me, inches away. I looked up into his face, he looked down into mine, the look on his face caused tears to well up in my eyes. It was the look I had given Lori only hours before, false empathy. "I believe you."

I turned away, walking to the door of the magentis and opening it, placing one foot inside, my hand on the frame of the door. I couldn't bring myself to look away from him as he stood there, alone, body turned away, his head turned toward me. His arms hung at his side, before he changed his position to face me entirely, crossing his arms. "Thanks." I muttered before awkwardly getting into the car before letting the tears flow freely, starting the car after having one last look around before driving away. In my rearview mirror I watched the shadow of a man standing in the parking lot slowly get smaller and smaller, before he disappeared entirely.

Leaving him there took its toll on me, I knew that it was a complete rude thing to do. I couldn't stay with him any more, though. I was beginning to fear him again, and I never wanted to feel that again. Never again.


	4. Chapter 4

Lev stood in the parking lot, lost in his confusion while he watched the sleek black car drive away from him. She was all together too tired to drive, and he was aware of this. Something inside of him told him that she would be all right, though. He took a deep breath in and began walking toward the apartment building, taking the moment of silence to think about what exactly he was doing.

Adelaide Nyles. Adelaide Nyles.

The name repeated in his mind over and over, she was an innocent girl. She had attended church for most of her life; she was a good student at the local high school before she graduated. She would attend college eventually, but she had plans to travel before attending. She was a normal girl; she in no way deserved what would happen to her.

Perhaps that was what bothered Lev the most. His hands touched the door knob of his apartment; he hadn't realized how quickly he made it to the door. For some reason, he didn't want to go back to that home; it wasn't really a home to him at all. A home constituted some sort of attachment, but he had no attachment to this place at all. Really, it meant nothing to him, there was no reason it should still be standing.

Especially after what had just happened. That poor girl, Lev thought, she must have been so scared. His eyes closed, he was no longer the only one who knew where she was, what she was. He would have to act fast if he was going to act at all, that unknown thing inside of him held him back, told him not to pounce just yet. He wanted to know more about this woman, but was that really necessary?

Lev opened the door to his apartment and turned to shut it, leaning his head against the door, his hand lingering on the knob. It had been an eternity since he had been so aware of what was going on around him, he hated it. The feeling of ignorance made him feel weak; he would never feel weak again. He had been promised that, he intended to hold the man to his promise.

"Don't linger on her forever, Leviathan." Lev mumbled to himself. "She is just a woman."

Just a woman that he wanted to protect, that shouldn't have been brought into this at all. She was just a woman that was a stranger, but so closely intertwined with him that it almost hurt to see her go on each day without knowing her fate. It was like seeing himself through someone else's eyes. He saw her blind obedience to the universe mirror his own obedience to his Father, to his brother. It made him sick.

Unfortunately, protecting her would mean disobeying his brother. He would not want to be disobeyed, in fact, he wouldn't tolerate it. Should Lucifer ever disobey a direct order, he would have him punished. Lev sighed, understanding that the mutual power shared by him and his brothers was a curse, but a gift also. He should not curse it as he did now, but embrace it and appreciate it as much as he appreciated each breath that Adelaide Nyles took.

"I wish that I could tell you." He muttered, picturing Adelaide's face in his mind. He closed his eyes and smiled, she resembled him, slightly. He laughed at the irony of how similar they were; perhaps he should try harder to get close to her. "Yes." He said aloud, deciding then that he would get her to understand him as he longed to understand her. Without using any power he had over her, he wanted this to be real.

The time passed by so fast when it had no significance. Lev had gotten comfortable with a manageable glass of alcohol on the table next to him as he read his favorite play, Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. He found it amusing, yet so well written that it captivated each time he read it, and he had read it millions of times.

The clock on the wall showed that it was around 2:15 in the morning, the roman numerals glowed against the lamination of the candles scattered here and there. Lev had a long love of candles, originating long before he had ever came to Earth. Back when he was still an angel, still glorified and perfect.

Candles reminded him of the better times he had had in his life, of all the times when he was happy. His concentration on the book had waned; carefully he closed the hardback cover and looked around the room. This place didn't make him happy at all, on the contrary, it depressed him. Certainly it wouldn't be missed if he should just… be rid of it.

By the time Adelaide Nyles had gotten home, Lev was standing outside of the apartment building, staring up at the flames that encircled the walls, a sick smile on his face. The people inside would get out, hopefully, but it didn't really matter to him at that point. He had woken Lori and Drew, the only people he truly worried about. He wouldn't want Adelaide to suffer because of this, so he made sure that Lori and Drew now stood next to him, looking up at the building with him, soft sobs coming from Lori.

Normally, Lev would have felt disgusting by now. Giving in to his primal desires made him sick, he was so much more than an animal set out of its cage. The fire would attract them, though, which is exactly what he wanted. They would recognize it as a sign he was there, and they would come in a large group, no doubt. That didn't worry him; he could easily gather a group to trounce their numbers. All he wanted to do now was to enjoy this, the chaos he was still capable of bringing.

The smile faded from his face. He should not be enjoying this, he shouldn't be thriving from the fact that the thing he did best was destroy. It was something in him he wasn't proud of, but was happy he possessed. The people came flooding out of the complex now; he counted them as they came. More than half had made it out within the first ten minutes, the rest followed shortly after. Lev thought of this as a fortunate happening, a lovely coincidence that they should all make it out. Oh well, there was no need to start the killing now, it would come soon enough.

All around him he heard the sounds of despair, he seemed to soak them in and embrace them as a power source. The cries gave him an energy that turned him from confusion to elation, it felt so wonderful. It was the calm before the storm that was sure to come.

"The firefighters think it's arson." Lev heard Lori explain to Drew, the gossip had gotten around the group of people surrounding the flaming building. He smiled, Lori's dark eyes meeting his own, a deep understanding in them that made Lev comfortable. He was not able to tell Adelaide, no, not yet, but there was nothing against telling Lori, it was simply a coincidence that she should be Adelaide's best friend.

Lori had made her way over to Lev, her expression calm, but she couldn't fool Lev, she was terrified. From the distance he heard her clear her throat, swallow, then clear her throat again. Her throat was dry, he thought, watching her approach him carefully, slowly at first, reluctance slowly leaving her as her pace quickened. Lev sat on the edge of the nearby picnic table, placing his foot up on the bench and rested his elbow on his knee. He smiled at Lori.

"I'm glad you made it out all right."

"Did you do this, Lev? Please, just tell me the truth." She looked weary, her voice exasperated. Lev's smile faded, he could tell that she was in no mood to play games with him. Unfortunately for her, he thought as the smirk returned, I am in the mood to play.

"Personally, I'm just happy no one got hurt." He turned to the still burning building, the flames loud and bright in the early morning hours. The panic had ceased, the habitants had calmed considerably and they had gone back to their tired walking about, trying to think of some place they could go now that their home had been destroyed.

"Why would you do this?"

"Have you ever been so concerned for someone, in this case, a group of people, that you would do anything for them?" Lev had motioned to the group of people around him, but one name screamed in his thoughts. "Oh, I'm just so happy everyone got out safely."

"I'm not going to pretend that I understand you." Lori said, sitting next to him on the top of the poorly painted table, turning her head to look him in the eye. They were so close, but Lori didn't feel uncomfortable in anyway, she loved it. He made her feel safe, she trusted him so much, although she didn't know why. He looked back at her with a somber grimace, his hair falling into his face smoothly, brushing his nose benevolently as it swooped with the turn of his head. He looked forward as she finished, her gaze fixed on him. "I do understand the need to find some release, though. If you tell me now that you had a reason for doing this, I'll forget we ever had this conversation."

Lev considered this, rolling the offer over in his mind. Lori was a trustworthy woman, she simply wanted the truth. He also desired truth; it was a common desire between the two. He turned to meet her stare, his face humorless, hers mimicked the dejection. She was a beautiful girl; Lev's hand reached up and touched her cheek which met his palm with eagerness. Lori's eyes closed, a sharp breath entering her lungs at his electric touch. It was like putting your tongue to a battery, she noticed, except so much more intense.

Lev's head turned, then, his hand falling to his thigh, moving away from Lori as Drew walked over to them. "I just finished making arrangements…" Drew said, eyeing Lev defensively while his hand outstretched to hand Lori her cell phone. His eyes remained on the inexplicable man. "We're going to stay at the hotel on the edge of town."

Lori sighed. "All right." She stood, taking one last glance at Lev, she willed him to hear her thoughts with all her might. At that point, she wasn't aware of how much he was capable of, but she wanted to know, perhaps even needed to know. Drew seemed too ordinary as they walked to the fire marshal to inform him of their plans; it was almost boring to her. She looked at him, so small compared to Lev, as he shook hands with the man in uniform, his arm wrapping around her waist to pull her sweetly along to the parking lot.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice soft and loving. Lori shrugged, she felt fine, it would have been easy to say that, but she didn't feel compelled to answer him. In fact, his presence next to her, his hand around her hips, irritated her. He opened the car door for her, showing her inside, leading her with his hands before he shut the door for her and walked around the car to the driver's side.

When Drew threw the car into drive, Lori couldn't stop thinking about Lev. He had shared one of his most incriminating secrets, she could kill him if she chose to, but she wouldn't ever try. She felt special, he had shared one thing with her while she shared thousands, he was her own breathing diary, and he never complained. What would she have done without him? Probably gone insane.

Adelaide was most definitely her best friend. She knew everything about Lori, and Lori knew that she could tell Adelaide anything in the world with the exception of one thing. Lori could never disclose her feelings about Adelaide. She was a nice girl, loyal, the perfect best friend, but she had quirks that annoyed the hell out of Lori. Adelaide would always be number one in Lori's book, but Lev was slowly creeping up to second.

He was probably still sitting on the wooden table, watching the flames be put out. He was probably one of the only people still there; the fire fighters would assume he had nowhere to go. One of them might even offer to let him sleep at their house tonight, it would be the stupidest thing they had ever done if Lev accepted, but he wouldn't. He was different than most of his kind, which was soothing. Drew opted to leave the radio off, a quiet was over them, and within minutes, Lori fell asleep to the hum of the engine.

Greg Nyles walked into the kitchen of his semi-large house on a Sunday morning to a freshly brewed cup of coffee. The smell of eggs filled the small white-tiled room, his bare feet in the slippers glided across the floor toward the cupboard. His arms, wrapped in a warm robe, dug through the various glasses to find his favorite coffee cup. It was red, shiny, the words "Decaf Coffee: The Ultimate Oxymoron" stood out, the white text still made him smile. Greg had a sense of humor that most people found bland, an extremely intelligent type of humor. His daughter often called him a geek.

A plate of eggs sat on the counter, the open window blew the smell of them all around, tainting the air. Greg placed his preferred mug onto the counter next to them, walking across the room to the refrigerator, pulling out the creamer before shutting the door and grabbing the coffee pot in his other hand. He walked to the mug, putting the creamer down next to the eggs while he poured the caffeine into the cup. After he had finished, he replaced the creamer with the now empty coffee pot, pouring some of the white liquid into the black, mixing the two with a spoon he had brought over with him. Grabbing the Sunday paper, he went to the table with the plate of eggs, coffee, and newspaper to have a calm morning before beginning his day.

Greg clicked his tongue disapprovingly while he read about the new government plans, it seemed ridiculous to him. Everything congress did, it seemed, became a large, over the top deal. They were playing it up, when it was really nothing to be concerned about at all. They were only voting on something that would never pass. Deciding he was finished with that particular article, he turned the page, snapping it into order before continuing to read.

His reading glasses sat finely on the tip of his nose, his head lifting a little to allow him to read the top lines on the page. His right hand held the paper while his left brought the red cup to his lips, his tongue tasting the sweet bitterness of his coffee. He let out a breath as he swallowed, placing the mug back down on the coaster. A knock came on the door, Greg's eyes lifted from the black and white print before him, listening for a confirming knock that came a moment later. Grunting a little as he stood from the chair, he shuffled over the floor of the kitchen to the foyer, looking out the large window on the door to see a man standing there, his back to the door.

Greg opened the door, peering around the door as it opened to see the surprised look on the man's face. He was a handsome young man, blue eyes that could make any poor young woman swoon. Adelaide. Greg sneered at him, glaring at him as he crossed his arm, taking in a deep breath as he stood in the doorway, oblivious as to just how intimidating he looked. The man held out his hand.

"Hello, Mr. Nyles, my name is Lev, I think I may have found your daughter's purse." The man called Lev held up a large faux snakeskin purse, random spurts of yellow and greens amidst the black and white patterns, Greg sighed. He recognized it as his daughter's purse. Adelaide could be so forgetful sometimes.

"Yeah, that would be it." Greg nodded; extending his hand to meet the strangers, shaking it firmly before taking the purse from Lev's other hand. "She's kind of an airhead sometimes, I dunno."

Lev smiled at him, a nice smile that seemed to be innocent, at least. Greg loosened his position, looking the young man over. He seemed all right, tired, that was for sure. The bags under his light skin made it look like he could fall asleep any second. Silently, Greg cursed his generous heart. "You look pretty tired there, kid. Why don't you come in and have a cup of coffee or something. M' wife made eggs, if you eat 'em."

Lev shook his head, waving his hands slightly. "No, I don't mean to intrude. I just wanted to bring this to your daughter. Adelaide, right?"

"That's right." Greg said, opening the door further. "She's upstairs right now, sleepin' probably, I'm sure she'll be down in a little while if you wanted to meet her. Just come in and eat, drink, before she comes down and chews my head off?"

The two laughed together, Lev stepped into the house politely nodding as he passed by Greg, waiting for Greg to take the lead into the kitchen. Greg motioned to a seat and sat down in his previous spot, watching Lev as he sat as well. "I'll start a new pot soon as I finish this article."

"No hurry." Lev assured, Greg picked up the newspaper and placed the glasses back onto his nose to read the end of the article. He found, though, that he was no longer interested in the article. His interest had shifted to the stranger who sat next to him; Greg folded the paper back up and leaned back into his chair, crossing his legs.

"What'd you say your name was?" Greg inquired.

"Lev." Lev answered, smiling a little. "I don't think I caught your name."

"Gregory Nyles," Greg began, "but I guess you already knew the Nyles part."

"Yes, I did." The young man's charm was refreshing, he was honest, and Greg liked that. He nodded to the man, taking a sip of his coffee.

"So, where'd Ad leave her purse this time?"

"At the apartment complex I used to live in, it was in the lobby." Lev stated, looking to the newspaper, nodding toward it. "Do you mind? I'm sure there's an article about it burning down in here somewhere."

"The one just outta town?" Greg said, astonished to hear the news. He himself had lived in that sturdy old building as a teenager, fresh out of his parents' home. It was the only thing he could afford without getting so far into debt that he would never get out. When he looked at this poor kid, he saw himself. It must have been heart breaking for the guy to have his home burn down.

Lev nodded. "Last night, actually. Everyone got out safely, thank goodness."

"Ad's friend Lori lives there…" Greg thought aloud, shaking his head. "Poor girl's probably scared to death."

"Her and her boyfriend are staying at a hotel on the other side of town, I believe. I was there when they made the arrangements."

"And you? Where are you staying?" Greg realized that this was probably a question the boy would think too personal, but to his surprise, and contentment, the boy shrugged.

"I plan to buy a small house outside of town, it's not much, but it's plenty for someone to live in alone." Footsteps came down the stairs; Adelaide yawned and stretched out as she descended the spiral stairs in the dining room. The floor was cold on her bare feet; her pajama pants reached her ankles and brushed against the tops of her feet. It bothered her as she walked.

Adelaide's hands tugged at the shirt that was just a bit too tight, attempting to give her skin room to breathe. She ran a hand through the tangled mess of hair on top of her head and yawned again as she entered the kitchen. At first, she thought she was seeing things.

Lev smiled at her and winked, bringing his finger to his lips with his eyebrows raised, after a while the finger pointed to her father who was absorbed in a newspaper article. "Good morning." He said.

Greg turned in his chair and saw his daughter; she was so gorgeous, he thought, even when she was a mess. He smiled at her and motioned to the man sitting next to him. "Hey Ad, this is Lev. Brought your purse back."

"My purse?" Adelaide repeated, blinking at the two. Her body stunned into standing in the doorway stupidly, Lev had already stood.

"Now that I see her, I remember we've met before." Lev purred, his voice suddenly turning smooth and debonair. Greg rolled his eyes, but a smile stayed on his lips. He liked this kid's style. "How could I forget someone like you?"

Greg stood, moving over to the two. Adelaide was still stupefied, Lev watched her stiff body, even like this he saw that she was so fragile, a delicate China doll that needed to be protected against the bulls that were after her. He turned his head and silently begged Adelaide to understand, he was only trying to keep her safe.

But she didn't know, she was most likely terrified at the sight of him. Lev admitted to himself that a strange man showing up at a woman's house would be rather odd if you were said woman, but he had no interest in stalking her, hurting her, nothing of that sort. As a seal, she needed to be protected, to be held in the highest regard possible. Lucifer would be proud of him.

"Lev." Adelaide muttered, looking at him from the corner of her eye as she turned her head to face her father. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Lev answered, relief rushing through his body at her acceptance of this excursion. Out of all the seals he had come into contact with, Adelaide was his favorite. He smiled at her with all the warmth he could conjure up, willing her to smile back. She did within seconds.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you two alone. If you really do know him, Ad." The last sentence was more like a question; he nodded toward Lev curiously looking at his daughter, who nodded to him. They were alone as Greg grabbed his coffee cup and newspaper, walking out the sliding doors onto the patio.

As soon as the glass doors shut, Adelaide snapped to Lev. "What're you doing here?"

"I wanted to make sure you were feeling well, you gave me quite the scare last night, you know." Lev said, stepping forward a little. His bold move caught Adelaide slightly off guard; he was so lovely it was almost unbelievable.

"Is that the real reason?" she asked him. He laughed, a loud, cheerful sound that made Adelaide grin.

"I suppose it's not the full truth, however, I strongly consider portions of the truth to still be the truth, don't you?"

"I suppose." She said, attempting to sound just as alluring as he did, it was obvious it came naturally to him, though. She crossed her ankles and leaned against the wall, looking up at Lev. She felt different when she was around him, more confident, more outgoing than she normally was. "What else did you come here for?"

"I was curious about you." He said honestly, she didn't expect such a straight out answer. She was slightly disappointed.

"Usually people get to know more about other people by taking them out." Adelaide hinted. She prayed he would pick up on it.

"Then we will indulge in the social customs I seem to be unaware of." He winked. Adelaide melted, he was so… sensual.

"I'll go get ready. Since you and my dad seem to be good buddies now, you can go sit with him, if you wanted, that is. Or you can leave, we can meet somewhere. Or you could pick me up later on if that's easier for-"

"I'll just go outside and wait." Lev chuckled, stepping back with his hands laced behind his back. "I'll be waiting."

"I'll try to hurry."


	5. Chapter 5

{Recently I've been thinking of changing the point of view of In Believing. I'm not sure which suits the story better, or which you guys like more, so if you could let me know, it would be much appreciated.}

Lev walked out onto the brick patio, a round glass table with a yellow umbrella sat to his left, chairs seated around it undisturbed. His eyes scanned the yard; a rather large piece of land with scattered small hills dressed in beautiful and colorful flowers, and saw Mr. Nyles lying in a string hammock. Lev walked over to him gradually, taking in the striking landscaping as he walked. A small waterfall fell down one of the larger hills near the tall wooden fence that surrounded the yard. Little lights were stuck into the ground in the high traffic areas of the lawn.

Greg looked up from his paper the moment Lev had left the house. He knew he was there, walking toward him, but Greg played it cool, keeping his eyes on the articles he wasn't reading. When Lev reached him, he folded the paper and laid it on his stomach, lacing his hands over top the paper and looked up over his glasses at Lev. "Mr. Nyles, if you don't mind, I'd like to take Adelaide to breakfast."

Greg chuckled to himself, looking down at his twiddling thumbs. This young man, whom Greg had just met, sure had a lot of nerve. Greg had invited him in for a simple cup of coffee and ended up having the man take his only daughter out for breakfast. Greg wouldn't stop them, he admired the confidence that this man possessed. He truly was a young Gregory Nyles, of course Greg had to appreciate that.

Gregory looked up from his paper, unsure of what exactly he was going to say, just in time to witness one of the strangest things he had ever seen.

Gregory Nyles, a working man since the age of 14, had seen many strange things in his lifetime. His first part-time job had been at the local pub in his small town, where the infamous drunks of the small village-like community hung out for the entirety of the days he worked. They were interesting men who had lived interesting lives, telling tales of their adventures around the bar while Gregory washed the glasses with a dirty rag. At the tender age of 14, Gregory thought he had seen it all.

At age 16, he quit his job at the pub and ventured off into the nearby city he went to every Sunday for church. There, he found another part-time job as a waiter at a high class restaurant he had never been to. The owner of the restaurant hired him on a whim, deciding that he had had enough of the snobby men and women who worked for him, it just happened that as he made this decision, a young country boy wandered into his building and asked for a job. He hired him on the spot. Gregory enjoyed his work there, he was a friendly young man who the customers seemed to adore; they tipped him generously, giving Gregory enough money to buy his first car. He was so grateful to the cast of characters he had met at the restaurant. At the discovering age of 16, Gregory thought he knew all there was to know.

At age 18, Gregory was living on his own. His job at the restaurant had given him just enough money to make the rent at a small apartment complex that had been built over the summer outside of his hometown, he had jumped at the oppportunity. His apartment was small, a one bedroom, one bathroom place that made him the happiest he'd ever felt. He had a girlfriend, a pretty girl who made him feel on top of the world. He invited her to live with him there, but she had respectfully declined. She was always the rational one of the two, he admired that about her. It kept him grounded, she was the one who encouraged Gregory to leave his comfort zone at the restaurant and aspire to bigger and better things. He did so without questioning her, and found it was the best decision of his life. He owed his new job at the local Lawyer's office to his beautiful girlfriend; at age 19, Gregory proposed to his girlfriend, and became engaged. At age 19, with a fiance and, as he was to find out later on, a baby on the way, Gregory thought he had aquired all there was to aquire.

But now, at age 38, Gregory watched as the young man before him shook. It was not a violent shake, by any means, it seemed as though the young man had just shivered; but it was something Gregory had never seen before. The boy's body contorted, a disturbing way that made it seem as though something was attempting to escape from his body, starting in his stomach and rolling its way up to the throat and escaping out the mouth in a form of a low groan. His body stayed, then, still as stone, unmoving for several minutes. Gregory leaned forward, watching this perplexed. He wasn't sure what to do, there was something about the way the boy just stared into space, his brilliant blue eyes watching nothing so intently, that Greg didn't dare disturb him.

Soon, though, it was over, and the boy came back to Earth. His eyes rolled, the lids blinked over them and Lev looked down at Gregory. His eyebrows pulled together, of course it had to be then. Lucifer was a wildly impatient man, it never ceased to amaze Lev how truly bratty Lucifer really was. He needed it to be his way, not in five minutes, not in two minutes, but right then and there. He was calling Lev, it seemed urgent by the intensity of the call. Lev sighed, an apologetic look shot from his face down to poor Gregory Nyles who looked more astonished than any man should ever be. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to leave now." Lev attempted to be as polite as possible, he bowed, even, as he did in the old days, and watched as Greg nodded his head.

Without saying another word, Gregory watched as the young man walked back across his lawn. He wasn't sure what to think at that moment, whether he should be worried or not, whether what he saw just then was cool or unusual. He didn't want to think about it, he descerned, so he didn't. Gregory Nyles was a simple man with complex feelings, but he had a strange knowing that this matter was all together too complex for his liking. He left it alone as the young man named Lev walked through the gate and away from the house.

A deep hatred filled Lev as he walked down the familiar street, up those familiar stairs, through the familiar french doors and past the oh so familiar oriental guardians. He walked with a steady pace, his feet heavy against the marble floors and his eyes burning against the intricate marble walls. This home was beautiful, it was a marvel, it begged Lev to calm, to understand that Lucifer truly needed him now, that he must be calm in the presence of Lucifer; Lev did not listen. He continued on with a dexterity that would not loosen, it was as sure as he felt then.

Lev did not feel the need to be polite in this home any longer, he no longer felt the need to keep up false pretenses; he hated the people in this building. In fact, he wanted them all dead. He had felt this way for years, centuries, eons, even, but he had never disclosed this information. It was time, though, for them all to see the true nature of Leviathan.

He had done this before, so long ago, when he had first came down to Earth. Oh, how angry he felt. Lucifer had turned them from the graces of their Father, he had put them against their own brothers and sisters, how dare he! Leviathan paced back and forth in the house in which he did so now, and cursed Lucifer openly, yelled it to the ceilings as he did now. How dare he!

Leviathan's mind had been filled with hatred, a deep loathing for his brother that he could not control, and when the others had tried to reason with him, they had failed; their bodies had piled up on the floor. Leviathan did not want to hear them, he did not want to see them, he paced back and forth, back and forth like a beast in a cage. He felt as though he was the beast in the cage, he hated, he loathed, he was irate. He wanted blood to be spilled, but as he looked around him at the corspses of dead friends, dead brothers, he could not help but picture Lucifer there among them. He saw the definite features of a ravishing blond head at his feet, he kicked it, he kicked it with all his might and it smashed against the wall; as it fell Leviathan realized it was not a head of fair blond, but a head of dark black, it was not Lucifer at all.

He burst through the door, then, the images of his dead brothers and sisters, the words of their Father ringing through his mind. Banished. Unforgiven. Treacherous. Murderers. Traitors! Leviathan was none of those things, he should not have been banished, he should not be unforgiven. He was angellic, he was appaulingly beautiful, he was graceful, he was loving, he cared so deeply, but now; now all of those things had left him and the one thing on his mind made him all of those things. As Leviathan marched through the halls of the ornate home, he was treacherous, he was a murderer, he was a traitor. Leviathan's arms hit against his torso violently as he walked with a speed any mortal could never manage. His hair bounced with every step, his eyes a menacing blue, stared forward to the corridor, and when they caught glimpse of Lucifer standing there, he exploded.

His hands grabbed for Lucifer's neck, but instead found themselves laced with Lucifer's own hands, pushing against each other with a force that would have crushed mortal bones. Lucifer spoke with a calm, even tone to Leviathan, words meant to soothe, to calm, but Leviathan did not hear them. His mind was filled with screams: **_Banished! Unforgiven! Treacherous! Murderer! Traitor!_** He could hear nothing but the deadness of his heart, the screams of his souls, the defiance in his own voice as he yelled so violently at Lucifer.

"How could you!" He screamed, his voice a contrast to his normal tone, it was harsh, dead, an eruption of emotions that stunned Lucifer. "How dare you! They are DEAD, Lucifer, DEAD! YOU killed them, you MURDERED them!" Lucifer's blue eyes, a color that was much richer than Leviathan's, widened. His brother was truly upset, he was actually _angry_ with him. Leviathan's words stung Lucifer's ears, they hurt worse than the words of his Father, from whom Lucifer had fallen from. He did not miss his Father, not as long as he had Leviathan by his side. He adored his brother, he loved him more than anything, and to hear those words spilling from Leviathan's gorgeous lips with a sharpness that would pierce the heart of any man... Lucifer fell to his knees.

"I-" Lucifer, a man with a gift for knowing exactly what to say in almost any situation, had lost all words. He looked up into the face of an angel. Leviathan was truly that, an angel. He had not fallen, no, he would never truly fall. Lucifer had noticed that after the fall, his brothers and sisters who had come to congratulate him, their faces had lost the appeal they once had. Their skin, once a radiant shade, had grown dull. Lucifer looked on them all with seeing eyes, his all seeing eyes watched their movements which had become clumsy, he watched their color slowly fade, he watched as his brothers and sisters fell out of the grace of his Father.

But Leviathan, oh, Leviathan. Lucifer thought as he watched his brother's chest heave, the anger still plainly written. It was obvious that Leviathan was holding back so much then, it was obvious that Leviathan wanted to kill Lucifer. Lucifer's mouth remained closed, his eyes closed, and he fell forward, kneeling at the feet of his amazing brother. Leviathan would never fall from grace, it was obvious. Leviathan, as far as Lucifer was concerned, _was_ grace.

But now, years after the fall, Lucifer sat in his bed chambers, looking off the balcony as Leviathan had done nights ago, and watched the sun high in the sky. Leviathan would arrive soon, he could never disobey a call like the one Lucifer just sent. A smile perched on Lucifer's sinister lips, ahh how he loved Leviathan's obedience. It was true that, if Leviathan ever called, Lucifer would come to him without question. Yes, it was also true that, even though Lucifer was credited as the savior for his children, he would be nothing without his brother. Leviathan was one of the few to survive the fall, he was one of four former angels to live now.

It had been so long since Lucifer had seen his brothers of grace, those who still dwelled with his Father, doing as he asked with no question. They were puppets on strings, maneuvered by the hand of their Father while he laughed, he mocked their love for him. Lucifer scoffed; he vowed to never do that to _his_ children. Unlike Lucifer's Father, Lucifer actually loved his children.

In fact, Lucifer loved them so much he knew when to send them to his true home. Lucifer had left his home so long ago, he had been in the realm of humans for much too long for his taste. He scoffed again. Humans; dirty little things that deserved to die. It served them right, they did not know that which they had been given was the one thing that Lucifer longed for the most. His hatred for them was ten fold the hatred with which Leviathan entered the door, it burst from his every pore as he walked up to Lucifer.

Lucifer turned on his heel, casually looking at his brother with a loving grin. How he loved seeing his brother like this, so raw, so intense. It was a beautiful thing when Leviathan got angry, it was simply the most delightful thing Lucifer had ever seen.

"You cannot do that to me without giving a notice!" Lev boomed, thrusting his hand into the air. "I understand your need, brother, but please! You must give me some warning next time."

"Why?" Lucifer purred, his voice as elegant as his looks. Lev sighed; it was always like this. He felt an anger for Lucifer that couldn't be tamed, but as soon as he came into view, it all left mysteriously. Lev could never be angry with Lucifer, it just wasn't in him to hate something which he loved so dearly. He smiled, the two of them laughed together and embraced in a tight hug, their arms snaking around each other. "I have missed you. I was beginning to believe that you had left me forever."

"Never." Lev whispered into Lucifer's ear, his lips touching the earlobe gently. "You know that I am yours."

"As I belong to you." Lucifer murmured. He lingered there in his brother's arms for quite some time. He felt safe there, the firmness with which Lev held his brother was so comforting. Finally, the two broke apart and Lucifer walked over to a desk which held no documents and sat at the high-backed chair. The cushion was a deep red with golden stitching which created an intricate pattern, it was one of Lucifer's favorite chairs in the whole building. He sighed, crossing his legs and setting his elbows against the arms of the chair, lifting his left forearm to bring his hand to the ends of his hair, where his fingers twiddled the blond strands about while he looked up at his brother. "Have you found the seal?"

Lev looked to the side and pondered this. He had indeed found the seal, Lucifer would be elated to know that, contrary to their initial beliefs, it was completely unguarded. It would be easy to obtain, easy to destroy, perhaps a little too easy for Lucifer's liking. He would find it boring, then, would it be worth telling at all? Lev pondered this as he walked about the room, touching an assortment of things absentmindedly while he thought it over. Lucifer's eyes followed Lev patiently; he would never tire of looking at this particular specimen. Lev debated and debated for four minutes and ten seconds, by Lucifer's count, when finally he turned to his brother and began. "Yes, I have found the seal." He said honestly. "It is unguarded, out in the open for us to take. In all reasoning, it is already ours."

"Wonderful." Lucifer's hands clasped together. It was certainly a wonderful thing. The seal was his, it would be destroyed, and he would wage a war to begin many wars; ahh, Lucifer thought, it would be as beautiful as the sun.

"But,"

Lucifer's head snapped around. But? Lucifer sighed, he should have anticipated a problematic situation. It would not be so easy to simply take the final seal, beginning his rise to power; no. It would be diffficult. He waited for Lev to continue. "But?"

"But please, let me have, say, two months with her. I find her to be intruiging, brother, something I have not found in a long time."

Lucifer smirked a sly smile. "Her." He teased, standing and walking over to his brother. He was relieved to hear that there was nothing standing between him and his goal, nothing unfriendly, that is. He could tell by the look in Lev's eyes that he wanted this girl, that he wanted to make her his. It was great to see the animalistic glare of the predator back in Lev's eyes, it had been absent for a long, long time. Who was Lucifer to deny his brother of the pleasure he so desperately deserved? He nodded in consent, "Yes, two months, then." A relatively short amount of time to wait when one considered how much time had been consumed with waiting already.

Two months. Only two months until Lucifer could walk on the cold, hard ground of Earth again. The thought gave Lucifer chills. His eyes closed as Lev exited the room, his body collapsed onto the chair in ecstasy as he began pondering what was coming to him in just two short months. 60 days. 1,440 hours. 86,400 minutes. 5,184,000 seconds. The equations flooded his head. "Oh, sweet delight," he began, a slight melody to his voice as he swooned into his thoughts. "Life; I come to end you soon."


	6. Chapter 6

Lev's hand paused momentarily over the Bristol paper before him. The black chalk held in his fingers made the skin turn a dark shade, his mind's thoughts reflecting the color. Out of everything in the world that he could be thinking of, he couldn't help but think of this one thing, the one thing that had bothered him for days.

His eyes, paralyzed as they stared at the picture he had just finished, relaxed. The lids fell over the glossy surface of the iris and pupil in a slow blink before lifting back upward to allow sight. He stared, unfortunately, he didn't have the strength to look away. Instead, he brought his hand over the paper once more, a long, thick black line going through the middle of a comely face drawn to perfection. It mirrored her almost exactly.

The one flaw, however, haunted Lev. His gaze fixed to it, it wouldn't move away. The imperfection wouldn't leave, it couldn't leave even if Lev desired it to; it had been thousands of years since Lev didn't have the ability to be rid of something he didn't want.

Whether it was out of fear of ruining the rest of the sketch or worry that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't be able to capture the essence of the attractive woman he had drawn, Lev let it be. He sat back in his three-legged stool, utterly revolted and full of want at he same time, he watched as a woman he hadn't seen in years stared back up at him with a stare that could bring any man to his knees.

Lev certainly was among them.

Adelaide could hear her heart beating inside of her ears. It had been two hours since she had left her house, her skin tight shorts and tank top dry then. The matching running garb was drenched now, though, in the sweat of their owner as she continued to run. The beads ran down her skin hesitantly, stopping here and there only to be flung off of her body by her movements.

Her eyes focused on the sidewalk before her, never ending cement that brought her closer and closer to her destination, if she even had one. The music blared in her ears, syncing with the sound of pumping blood and the heavy breathing. _Tha-thump, Tha-thump, Tha-thump._

It was a gorgeous day. The sun, high in the afternoon sky, shone down on everything beneath it. The sun rays were kissed by a gentle breeze that kept the temperature at a comfortable level. Adelaide's eyes were momentarily diverted to the many birds retreating from a nearby tree. There was some sort of majesty to the way they moved together that Adelaide just couldn't ignore.

Her feet, in the nike shoes she had bought last summer for softball practice, hit he pavement in even strides as she finally started to slow, finding that she had ended up going in one large circle. She bounded up the front steps to her front door and, after taking one last look around at the outside landscape, opened the front oak doors and walked inside.

Once inside, she became aware of how horrid she really smelled. The sweat had caused her clothes and skin to smell, the lack of open air caused it to accumulate around her. She took the headphones out of her ears and set her iPod on the buffet next to the stairs before calling out to her mother and father, receiving no answer. They must have taken Greyson to the park.

She hurried up the wooden stairs in the foyer, past the family bathroom and master bedroom to her own bedroom, shutting the door behind her while she kicked off the sneakers. For the past four days, she had been running every day. It began with four hours on the first day, she remembered how she couldn't bring herself to stop. It was a release that she welcomed, not having to think about the world around her.

The last time she had begun obsessively running was when her father, Gregory Nyles, had been rushed away in an ambulance from their home when she was fourteen. He had accidentally fallen off the roof while he was cleaning the gutters. He had placed his hands out in front of him to cushion the fall, bracing himself for the worst; the bones of both arms had busted through the many layers of skin and were poking out in a jagged mess of bone and blood.

Adelaide wasn't allowed to go with him in the ambulance and her mother had forced her to stay at home. She was so worried that she had started with pacing, which eventually turned into a run that lasted 7 hours while she waited for her parents to return. Her mother came first, explaining what had happened and what would have to happen for the next few weeks. Adelaide ran at least 4 hours every day for the entirety of Gregory's recovery time.

It was an emotional thing, she assumed. Running helped her to calm, it as better than some coping techniques that she could have picked up along the way. Adelaide, over all, was happy that her "drug of choice" was a healthy one.

After closing the blinds on the windows of her room, Adelaide stripped herself of all clothing before heading into her private bathroom to start the shower. The sound of the water hitting against the walls of the shower made it impossible for Adelaide to hear herself think, so she gave into it and simply listened while she sat against the sink, waiting for the water to heat up.

Her feet touched the door of the shower, it was cold, refreshing to her hot skin. She closed her eyes, her arms falling loosely to her sides and against the floor of the bathroom. It would be hard to force herself to stand from such a comfortable position, but she must, the smell was starting to get overwhelming.

It was hard, at first, to not think about Lev. How stunning he was, how charming he was, how polite he was; but now it had become second nature. Adelaide hadn't thought about him for two days, half of the time she had been without him. It had been four days since she had seen him, since he had completely rejected her.

His sudden disappearance hurt for a long time. Adelaide had instinctively assumed that they were something, that a relationship had truly begun to bud. Obviously, she was wrong, and she accepted that now. After all, she knew next to nothing about this mysterious man.

What did she know of him, anyway? His name was Lev. He previously lived in the apartment complex an hour outside of town before it burned down; current location unknown. He was handsome, a charmer, no doubt had had tons of girls before Adelaide. She certainly wouldn't be his last.

Because she never really belonged to him at all.

But for some odd reason, he made Adelaide feel safe. She didn't know why, she probably didn't want to know why, but there was something about him. She had a feeling that, underneath his calm exterior, there was a frantic and scared personality. Wasn't that how all dark, suave strangers ended up as? Secretly scared little boys who simply needed someone to love them.

A smile played on Adelaide's lips. Somehow, she couldn't picture Lev as the stereotypical stranger. He was different, that was for sure. Much different than any man she had ever met; far separate from her father, open and playful. Extremely opposite her younger brother Greyson who was happy to see the smallest sign of positive emotion in anyone. Lev was different from her male friends, from her ex boyfriends, all of whom had only been able to see her outside appearance. It was a frustrating fact; they only loved her for her looks.

Lev, however, seemed unmoved by her pouty, plump lips. Her elegantly upturned nose and penetrating green eyes didn't seem to phase him, her tight, curvy body didn't affect him at all. He seemed genuine in his words and movements, everything about him screamed "I, my dear, am indeed a gentleman."

Adelaide shook her head and stood, she had succumbed to thoughts of him again. The shower was steaming by that time, and she had wasted almost five minutes thinking of something that could have been. Stepping into the hot water pouring from the head of the shower, Adelaide left all thoughts of Lev behind.

Even though the water was hotter than her skin, it felt nice. Adelaide wasn't sure why, but it felt rejuvenating to her, like all she needed was for her skin to drink in this hot water, and everything would be okay again. She closed her eyes and pushed her face into the steady stream of water, taking shallow breaths to be sure not to inhale too much liquid. Her long hands found her hair, tracing through the strands over and over again to thoroughly dampen the auburn mane.

Her hands fumbled around the shelf above her, searching blindly for the shampoo bottle that sat in its same place. Pulling her head out of the water, Adelaide applied an ample amount of shampoo to her scalp and began lathering it mercilessly.

Something was wrong, though, off in a way that it had never been before. Instead of creating clean bubbles atop her head, the shampoo felt gooey, thick in her fingers and hair. Adelaide frowned, she had grabbed the wrong bottle. Rinsing her hands in the water in front of her, she wiped the liquid off of her eyes and looked at the oval container on the shelf.

_That's odd. _Adelaide thought, reaching up to grab the white bottle of shampoo that she had held in her hands moments before. There was a smudge on it straight across the label, a reddish pink that she didn't remember being there yesterday.

As she reached up, though, she realized what it was. Her hand, wrist, arm, the entirety of her body was covered in a similar color; a dark red that dripped from her body in large streams, steady and flowing as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Her eyes darted to various points on her body, back and forth, back and forth, the crimson was forever present. Adelaide gagged.

It was pouring from the shower head, too, she noticed as she looked around. It hit her over and over again, unrelenting in its attack. It raced down her face from the top of her head. _Oh God._

Unsure, Adelaide slowly brought her hands to her scalp and felt there clumps of soft material. At first she thought it to be her own hair., but as she brought her hands down, one of the strange globs in her palm, Adelaide spasmed violently as she thrust her head this way and that, trying with a severe need to get what she now knew as dead, bleeding baby rats out of her hair.

They were disgusting as they fell to the ground, hairless and pink, bleeding and mutilated, they fell out of her hair and onto the ground around her, the blood from their little bodies swirling in the drain with the blood from the spout. Adelaide gagged again.

She pressed her body against the wall, the thick blood barely missing her flat stomach that was stained a deep red, like she had just applied a red lipstick and tried to wipe it off. Adelaide snapped her eyes shut, it was just like the car, as soon as she opened her eyes, it would all disappear.

Unfortunately, it did not.

When Adelaide opened her eyes she discovered that the situation had become much more disturbing. The blood on the walls was thicker now than before, the white wall only showing in places where the pentagrams had been made. Hand prints ran down the side of the shower door. The dead things on the floor had piled up to Adelaide's knees, she could feel it on her calves and in between her toes, she gagged again as the tears flowed freely from her eyes.

Her sobs shook her body, she screamed as loud as she could manage. _What a shitty time for my vocal cords to give out._

The minutes passed by like hours, and nobody came. Nobody was home, did she really expect anyone to come to her rescue? She closed her eyes again, unable to believe what was going on around her.

"Adelaide?"

_Really now?_

"Adelaide is that you?"

_He's in my house. _

"Adelaide!"

A figure began pounding on the shower door, it was locked from the inside. Adelaide was frozen against the wall, though, she couldn't move if she wanted to. She continued to sob, continued to scream, but this time, she screamed a very different phrase.

"Lev!" She screeched. The tears had mixed with the blood on her face, it ran down into her mouth in a slow, agonizing trail. She couldn't hold it back any longer, she threw up on top of the bodies that continued to pile; they were up to her waist now.

"Don't worry, don't panic. We're going to get you out of there."

_We? _Adelaide managed to think between the screams; the bodies had begun ascending quicker, now, they were above her belly button in a matter of seconds.

"Ad! Ad are you okay!"

Lori was with Lev?

"Move as far from the door as possible, okay? Lev is going to break it, we can't open it." Lori was trying to calm Adelaide down, she was failing miserably. The panic was in Lori's words just as clearly as they were in Adelaide's jumbled sentences.

It dawned on Adelaide as the glass of the shower door shattered, a large gaping hole gave way to a muscular arm that broke the remaining glass around it, that Lev was going to see her naked.

The bodies, having made it up to her shoulders by that point, began swirling down faster than they had climbed up Adelaide's body. The blood on the walls flowed quickly down the wall with the deceased and rotting animals, all of the gore retreating down the tiny water drain.

Lev had pulled Adelaide against his body, he was warm.

Adelaide dug her fingers into his cream sweater, burying her face into his chest as his arms wrapped a towel around her back, they had fallen to the floor. Adelaide's legs bent behind her, Lev held her up around the waist, propping himself up on his knees to watch Lori examine the shower in awe. "It's gone," she said, her expression blank.

"Of course it is." Lev muttered. He was so calm, how could he be so cool in a situation like that? Hadn't he seen? Was he really _that_ detached? It didn't matter, though. At that moment, all Adelaide could feel was his palm against her cheek that pressed against his chest, his other hand running down her hair smoothly. Adelaide could see the blood on his hands, it had probably come from her. He didn't flinch, though, he didn't even blink at the bloodied mess he held to his body. His breathing was even. His heart beat was steady, relaxing, beautiful.

It was astonishing to Adelaide that he could leave her thoughts for even a minute. Through the rancid odor of iron and water mixed together, she could smell his delicious cologne, an aroma that seemed to match him perfectly. It captured his essence in every way possible. Lori was beside him, her hand on his shoulder as she looked down at Adelaide on the floor, still sobbing. It was a sad sight.

Lori was slightly disturbed by her demeanor, how unsurprised she was to have heard Adelaide screaming as she and Lev, hand in hand, passed the large house. How normal it felt to be rushing up the stairs to Adelaide's room, watching Lev open the locked bathroom door as if it were nothing. It was a good thing Lev was able to stop it all in time, though. From what she knew, Adelaide was a very important part of Lev's existence. Without Lev's existence, Lori would cease to exist.

Lori looked at Lev's bleeding arm, the gashes in his skin showed obscene amounts of raw muscle that poked through the opened skin. She touched it gently, they had already started to heal. She looked into the piercing blue eyes she had fallen in love with, the pale face that captured her heart and soul completely. They weren't looking at Lori, though.

No, they stared down at Adelaide, pathetic and bawling on the floor, clinging to him like a parasite. It was gross. Lori stood and marched out of the room. Lev looked up momentarily before bringing his attention back down to the woman in his lap. He never wanted to use his _persuasion_, so to say, against her, but it was necessary. He brought his chin to the top of her head, and she stopped crying. They rocked there, her small moans and whimpers brought a smile to Lev's face. He closed his eyes.

His voice was smooth, a kind of empathy Adelaide hadn't expected from him. "I think it's time I told you something."


	7. Chapter 7

Lev, in his hurry to fetch Lori to help him in his explanation, had left Adelaide to dress herself. It was a curious situation he had put himself in, indeed. The blood on his sweater kept him from leaving the house, the innocent people walking by would suspect something that wasn't true at all should he leave the house, it was human nature. Lev smiled, they were rather stupid beings.

He settled for leaning out the living room window, yelling for Lori who was a block away by then. He could see her outline walking in that sultry walk, he knew she was trying to look as good as possible, she knew he was watching her. She was a pretty girl, Lev had to admit. Her blonde hair matched her personality, she was a natural woman who pulled it off quite well. Lev appreciated things that were natural.

It was inevitable. From the moment Lori heard Lev's voice calling out for her, she knew she was going to end up going back. It was frustrating to her, the hold that he had over her. The long talks, the lingering gazes, everything he did with her enveloped her and left her marked for life. She would never forget him, she prayed he would never forget her. After all, they were meant for each other. She was made for him, she was everything he needed.

Her pace slowed, the clicks of her heels on the sidewalk became more spacious, the time it took for her footsteps to fall was growing. Finally, she stopped and turned around. "That's my girl." Lev murmured, holding the door open for her as she walked past him. She smiled half heartedly at him, he smirked in reply. "Adelaide is upstairs dressing. She should be finished in a matter of minutes."

"You're going to tell her, then?" Lori's eyes bore into Lev's. He watched her, unmoved, he wasn't intimidated in the least; Lori was the first to break the stare. Her eyes trailed down to Lev's hand that hung at his side, she wanted to grasp it so badly.

"I owe her that much, don't you think?" Lev said, his voice smooth and convincing. He turned abruptly, his back to Lori as he walked up to the picture frames on the foyer walls. He took them in, the little boy running in the grass, the girl in her early teenage years smiling at the camera from behind a picnic table. He examined the serious senior picture on the wall the longest; the girl with the dark hair, her green eyes looking directly into the camera with a serene aura. "I won't allow this to go any further, you see. It's getting to be too traumatizing."

"She's going to be traumatized no matter what." Lori laughed, throwing her arms in the air and spinning around, her arms folding. He was impossible, utterly impossible.

"We shall see, hmm?"

Adelaide paced around her room, her arms crossed across her chest, her face hard with anger. Just a while before, she had bravely ventured into the bathroom, it was completely clean. It was starting to get infuriating, it was obvious that she wasn't just going insane. She could have handled going insane, somehow, someway, she would have dealt with it and moved on, recovered, even. This, however, the complete ignorance of what was going on around her, the understanding that everything that had happened was real, it was too much for one sane person to take.

Adelaide could hear Lev and Lori's footsteps on the stairs, they came with a knowledge Adelaide didn't have, that one fact made her irate. She knew nothing while they knew it all, Lori surely knew more about Lev than Adelaide did, and that made her feel a little ridiculous.

Lev walked through her bedroom door first, he was the unfortunate receiver of Adelaide's thrown, bloody towel. It smacked him in the chest, his arms catching it just before it fell to the ground. He looked from the towel to Adelaide, astonishment on his eyes for a brief second. "What's gotten into-"

"I know nothing about you!" Adelaide screamed at him. Her hair was wet still, it was unruly and flailing this way and that as she thrust her body around in her anger.

"Well," Lev began, even more unsure now than he had been just a moment before. He cocked his head and tossed the towel onto a nearby chair. "What is it that you want to know?"

"I don't know!" Adelaide huffed, pulling at her hair and grunting. She paced back and forth over and over, still ignorant to what she wanted to know. Lev had taken a seat in the chair that belonged to the writing desk in the corner. His legs were spread, his elbows connected to his knees in a relaxed yet concentrated sort of way. His palms, pressed together, were at his mouth, bouncing off his lips a few times. His eyes never left Adelaide. "Tell me why every time you're around me, something bad happens."

"I can't explain that right now." Lev said honestly, his eyes full of regret. "Anything else?"

"What's your _real_ name?"

"Lev."

Adelaide wanted to scream. "Your _full _name, smart ass."

Lev suppressed a smile, Adelaide was an interesting character. "My name is Leviathan."

Lori gasped. She'd asked that same question at least one hundred times, never receiving an answer. Usually, his excuse was that it was irrelevant, that she knew what to call him and he knew what to call her, what else was necessary? The other times she had asked he has slithered out of answering by busying himself with something, or simply pretending not to hear her. Adelaide had asked once. Lev had answered without hesitation.

Adelaide searched her mind for another question. Now that he was sitting in front of her, she had nothing to ask, it was as if everything she wanted to know previously didn't really matter now. Lev was watching her with those glacial eyes, they rose Adelaide's anxiety level to an insane height, she could feel herself shaking. "Do you wear contacts?"

Lev couldn't help but laugh at the question, his jubilant laughter filled the room; his giant smile showed his perfectly white teeth. His eyes had closed in his joy, and his hands fell to his knees, Adelaide could feel the blush filling her face. He looked at her as his laughter died down. "Millions of things to be told, Adelaide Nyles, and you ask if I wear contacts?"

"It's just-" Adelaide paused and looked at Lori, who was also giggling while sitting on the bed. She looked at Lev adoringly. It gave Adelaide a weird feeling. "What's going on with you two, then? If you refuse to answer my first question."

That had thrown Lev off. He didn't expect the questioning to be about him, on the contrary, he expected to be somewhat absent in the conversation he was having. Instead, Adelaide asked about him, and Lev could tell by the look on her face that she was only concerned with matters concerning him at the moment. Guilt was showing itself in Lev's stomach, he hadn't felt that way in years.

"By 'you two' you mean Lori and I, I assume." His voice was velvet as he began to explain. "We're great friends, Lori and I. Alas, she has a wonderful man already; Drew, correct?" he turned to Lori with curious eyes, his eyebrows raised and his lips pursed ever so slightly. Lori, on the other hand, gaped at him. Her mouth wide open, her eyes equally wide. Lev's lips pulled into a sly grin, his eyes narrowing, giving him a look of utter sensuality. He turned back to Adelaide.

"Why is it that you're always alone? Don't you have family, or something?" Adelaide intended on taking full advantage of Lori's silence, the questions were coming much easier now that she didn't have to worry about Lori staring at Lev.

"My relatives," Lev sat and thought how to answer. He moved his arm to the left, open palmed and searching. "They live a good distance from here."

"Mom? Dad? Siblings?"

"I have two brothers."

"That's all?"

"That's all." Lev stated, nodding slightly. He shook his head. "Not entirely, I suppose. My father is no longer present in my life, shall we say."

Adelaide decided not to press the issue. She nodded, and walked to the window, looking out onto the beautiful day. "Where do you live now?"

"I bought a house outside of town to the east." Lev had stood and walked over to the window to join Adelaide. "It's nothing spectacular, of course, but it certainly is enough for me." He smiled down at her.

Adelaide looked down. "Why did you leave me the other day?"

Lev's smile faded, his fingers touched Adelaide's chin and lifted it to look into his eyes. "You have to understand this, Adelaide," he began. "I was all but forced to leave."

"By my dad?" Adelaide's voice was urgent.

"No, no," he chuckled, "My brother, in fact. He was in an impatient mood that day, and needed me right that moment. You will see, when you meet him, just what kind of man he is."

Adelaide was suddenly nervous. "I'm meeting your brother?"

Lev snickered and released Adelaide's jaw to walk away, sitting in the place he had previously been. He looked over at Adelaide with a look that said "are you going to continue?" Adelaide accepted that he was not going to answer her question.

Adelaide ran a hand through her hair and re-crossed her arms, hugging herself tightly. Lori sat on the bed, still dumbfounded by Lev's earlier answer to a question regarding her. She stared at empty space, her eyes glossing over, she was clearly unfocused. Adelaide watched her for a little while, wondering what could possibly be going through her head at that point in time. Lev was starting to get restless.

He didn't move, he sat as stiff as a marble statue would, his eyes fixed on Adelaide in a glare, though his eyes were soft and patient. She smiled at him. He really was gorgeous.

"Do you think I'm going crazy?" She leaned against the window sill. "I feel like I am."

"No, au contraire," Lev vocalized, his eyebrows raising a bit again, "I believe you to be one of the sanest people I know."

"But you don't really know me at all." Adelaide pointed out. "We don't really know each other."

"That could easily change." Lev offered, tilting his head to the right slightly, flashing her a quick smile before turning to Lori.

Lori's expression had changed from shock to complete repulsion. She threw a particularly disturbing glance at Adelaide while she began to speak to Lev. "I'm going to go." she spat, standing and walking toward the door. "After all, my _man_ Drew is coming over later."

"All right," Lev said, grunting as he stood. Adelaide watched him as he walked toward Lori, extending an arm. Lori eyed him suspiciously before taking his hand and being pulled into a tight hug. "Don't be so quick to dismiss me, please."

"I'm not dismissing you." Lori whispered back, loving his secret attention. Adelaide stared at the two deep in their embrace, she shifted her weight to one leg after launching off the wall, an irritated look on her face. Lori closed her eyes and nuzzled into Lev's chest just as his arms unwrapped from around her tiny waist. "I'll talk to you later, then?" she asked, looking hopefully up into Lev's sculpted face.

"Of course." He grinned as Lori turned to leave, walking out of the bedroom door and down the hall to the stairs. Lev waited until he heard her shut the front door to turn to Adelaide, his face somber and serious.

"Where were we?" Adelaide giggled, Lev's face remained serious.

"You were asking me questions, if I'm not mistaken." He sat back down in the chair, this time moving the bloody towel over to keep from getting more blood on his already stained sweater.

"Right." The room suddenly felt awkward, his stare was more of an examination of sorts, his eyes looking over her completely. She fidgeted uncomfortably. "Lori seemed… Annoyed."

"She's a great girl." He was deflecting. Adelaide had taken psychology classes for the charter school program her high school provided. Not only had she taken psychology, but she had taken a sociology class and another human behavior class. She watched Lev curiously, attempting to use all that she'd learned to get inside of his intricate mind.

"Yeah, she's nice." Adelaide walked across the room and sat Indian style on her bed facing Lev. Her posture wasn't nearly as sure as Lev's, but it was definitely more comfortable, she thought as she watched him watching her. The two held the gaze until Adelaide smiled slyly. "What were you guys doing, anyway?"

"I enjoy taking walks." Lev said, returning the fox-like smirk.

"Lori doesn't." Adelaide replied. She knew for a fact that Lori hated physical activities like that, she thought they were pointless, it wasn't like her workouts at home. She had referred to innocent strolls as a waste of time many times over.

"Perhaps she's grown fond of them over the past few days." Lev suggested. "People change their minds about things too often."

Adelaide wasn't quite sure what to say. He had a point and she couldn't know for sure that Lori hadn't taken a random liking to walking around, the girls hadn't spoken in days; not since Adelaide informed her of Lev's disappearance. She shrugged, accepting his explanation for a possible truth.

"I wasn't able to finish my walk, unfortunately." Lev said, looking down to the side and thinking. He looked back up at Adelaide and smiled. "I had to rescue someone. I suppose I could be called a hero, or something."

"A hero, huh?" Adelaide teased. "That's quite the title. The least that someone could do is finish your walk with you. I mean, you did save her, after all."

"That would be lovely."

The two walked across town and back, going from the outskirts of town to the very edge of downtown near Chinatown before deciding to turn back. They exchanged opinions on various matters; music, the economy, politics, celebrities and their antics. They told their favorite things, Adelaide laughing when Lev disclosed that his favorite color was a light blue. He smiled as she laughed openly, when asked what she found so funny, she simply said "I thought of something else completely unrelated." They both laughed together.

On the way back, they had stopped for ice cream. Adelaide had insisted on it once she learned that Lev had never tasted the infamous "lemon-chocolate twist" soft serve ice cream that belonged to George's Ice Cream Parlor. As the cashier handed Lev and Adelaide the uniquely blended cones, Adelaide pushed him to try it before the weather melted it. Lev hesitated.

"Are you sure this is even edible?" He asked, turning the cone in his hand to examine the yellow and brown twist. "It seems, toxic, if you will."

"Oh, grow up." Adelaide said, rolling her eyes. "It's not toxic." She laughed and watched as Lev raised an eyebrow, a small grin hidden on his lips.

"I think you're trying to kill me, actually."

"I wouldn't be eating it if it was toxic. Just eat it." She smiled as he brought the cone to his lips and tasted it, groaning. He pulled the cone away from his lips immediately, coughing and grasping his throat theatrically.

"You've killed me!" He moaned, throwing himself into the lamppost to his left. "She's killed me!" the middle-aged woman across the street hurried her pace, turning away from Lev just as hastily, attempting to ignore the pair across the street roaring in laughter.

Adelaide smacked his stomach playfully. "Come on, you're going to make me the talk of the neighborhood. She lives two houses down from me!"

"Don't want the world to know you're a murderess?" He winked at her.

That simple gesture made Adelaide's body twitch. A long shiver was sent down her spine, her eyes closed momentarily as her breath and heart rate quickened. She gasped, she had nearly dropped her ice cream in the motion. She quickly turned to Lev, his stride had not been broken at all. He continued to walk alongside her as if nothing had happened at all. She stopped.

Lev stopped, his head turning to look over his shoulder before he turned completely. Adelaide had stopped, she stared at him with wondering eyes that met his equally quixotic eyes. "Is something wrong?"

Adelaide shook her head. She felt strange, but it definitely wasn't a bad feeling. She smiled. "No, sorry." She caught up to Lev and the two continued to walk. "Just felt light headed all of a sudden for some reason."

"It's the ice cream." Lev concluded. They laughed as Adelaide's house came into view, the tall posts of the wrap around porch getting more defined with every step they took. She wasn't ready for the experience to end, part of her wanted to stay with him until he forced her to leave. It was odd for her, only hours before she couldn't bare to think of him, yet here she was, walking down her street with him, laughing, making jokes, flirting, even.

When her feet met the front steps of her house, Lev stood on the sidewalk, looking up at Adelaide who had reached the top of the stairs in a matter of seconds. "Did you want to come in?" she asked. He shook his head.

"I shouldn't."

"It really doesn't matter," Adelaide said, hoping to convince him. "My parents aren't even home yet."

"Are you trying to seduce me, Adelaide?" He teased, looking falsely astonished. He brought his hand to his chest theatrically and stepped backward a step, his mouth gaping, his eyes narrow and predatory.

"I- What? No, that's not what I- No!" her words jumbled together, she wasn't able to form a correct sentence. She cursed herself silently as he laughed.

"Calm down, calm down," he said amongst bursts of chuckles that made Adelaide smile. He was a truly happy person. "I was only kidding."

"Then you'll come inside?"

"No, I really must be going. It's getting late, and I've a while to walk before I get home." He stated. "We will have to do this again sometime soon."

Adelaide's stomach filled with butterflies. "Yeah, definitely."

"I'll see you, then." Lev said before smiling and walking down the sidewalk.

Once inside, Adelaide leaned against the door, sliding down it. She reminded herself of a television show, the dramatic scene when the leading lady just returned from a date with the suave leading male. He had swept her off her feet, and the background music would be soft, but fluttering. She laughed at herself, she hadn't been in a mood this excellent in a while.

She stood, walked out of the foyer and into the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator door to look for something to eat. It was reflex, considering she wasn't hungry at all, but it gave her something to do with herself while she thought over the past few hours. They were magnificent.

Leviathan. She thought repeatedly. Leviathan, Leviathan, Leviathan.

_An exotic name for an exotic man._

Lev, Leviathan, whatever his name was, she was elated to know that he wanted to spend time with her, Adelaide. Adelaide and Lev, Lev and Adelaide. Leviathan and Adelaide, Adelaide and Leviathan. There was a ring to the combination of names that Adelaide loved, it rolled of her tongue so well. She found herself whispering it, the same thing each time. _Adelaide and Lev, Lev and Adelaide. Leviathan and Adelaide, Adelaide and Leviathan._


	8. Chapter 8

It had been three hours since Lev had left Adelaide at her house, dazed and intoxicated from his charm and appeal. She lay on her bed, her shorts exposing her legs to the wind coming in through her opened window, her hair sprawled out onto her white pillow like a branch on top of snow. Her eyes stared up at the square tiles on her ceiling, her mind counting them over and over. 158 tiles total, sometimes 157, sometimes 159, Adelaide decided to go with the neutral one hundred and fifty eight.

Her muscles were relaxed, her eyelids closed over her dry eyes, giving them moisture as she took in a deep breath of the cold air filling the room slowly from the outside gusts. She sighed with a smile, thinking yet not thinking at all, she was perfectly content with laying there on top of the comforter for quite some time. Greyson was in bed, her mother and father were in the living room on the first floor, the T.V. muted. Adelaide resisted the urge to sneak into the kitchen for a late night snack, instead settling for walking over to the window and opening it quietly to allow herself room to crawl out onto the roof.

The night sky was filled with bright stars, twinkling and reflecting off the many surfaces in space. Adelaide stared up at them, wondering which ones were actually stars and which were something completely different; which were still living on while the others had died in an epic explosion of light and color. She looked at them all with an appreciation she couldn't have been capable of feeling years before.

It was amazing how much she had grown up her senior year at high school. Nothing had drastically changed her, not life altering experience had taken place, yet she felt much more mature now that she had finally graduated, as if something inside of her had changed for the better. It was a nice feeling, something she hadn't expected to feel, but was happy that she was. She looked down from the starry sky and focused on her neighborhood, the expensive houses with their extravagant architecture, the sounds of various small dogs in the backyards of a few homes barking, communicating with one another. She watched as a swing set creaked and moved back and forth in the wind, it had to be several years older than Adelaide, the rust and various duct taped pieces showed that it would be giving out soon. It couldn't be safe for children to play on.

The trees that rowed Adelaide's front yard prevented her from seeing much, a few rooftops like the one she sat on, the street below that was abandoned and silent, the neighborhood that was across from her own, the quiet majesty of the night. She thought about all of the things that had happened lately, picking apart every detail as only a teenage girl could, coming to many conclusions and options, only choosing a few.

She would have to get an apartment soon. Her decision to wait a year before attending a college was not supported by her mother, therefore she wouldn't be able to live at the house much longer. She was welcome there, of course, but Adelaide decided she wouldn't be able to take her mother's constant nagging, derogatory comments about her skipping a very valuable year of higher education. It would be too stressful, an apartment would give her an opportunity no college could; she would experience the real world like never before.

She would have to find a job, a good one that paid enough to support Adelaide in her new apartment. She would need to make enough to make rent each month, to pay for food and other necessities while still having enough left over for small leisurely expenses along the way. These needs ruled out most of the employment opportunities in the suburbs of town near where her parents lived, which didn't ail Adelaide at all. She would prefer a job in the city, after all, that is where her apartment would most likely be located.

She would have to find a boyfriend, too. Adelaide smiled, remembering her nice evening with Lev, how polite and chivalrous he was, paying for her ice cream, opening the door for her, helping her step down from the stairs of her house, making sure she was safe as they crossed the street; he'd even caught her as she tripped over her own feet, saving her from falling in front of a crowded street and ultimately spilling her ice cream down the front of her shirt. He kept a good conversation, too, which was another quality that Adelaide adored in him. Yes, she did need a boyfriend to share her newly found independence with, and yes, perhaps Lev would be the one to join in her experience.

Adelaide wasn't overly concerned with it, though. It would be nice to have such a wonderful man by her side, to help her when she needed it, to hear her troubles when she was having them, to laugh with her when she was happy. She wouldn't be completely devastated if things with Lev didn't work, either. It would be great to have him, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if she didn't. She had thought long and hard about it, how he could help her grow, how any man could help her grow. Lev certainly wasn't the only man out there, there would be thousands of other men Adelaide could meet in the city.

Deep down, however, she knew that she wanted Lev, everything that he was and everything that he wasn't. Lev, who was just the right amount of silly and serious, who's favorite color was light blue (a particularly girly color in Adelaide's opinion), who gave Adelaide intense feelings that she couldn't identify, but enjoyed thoroughly. Lev, the man who occupied her thoughts for most of her waking moments.

Adelaide thought about all the odd quirks Lev had. He'd told her that he had a habit of rearranging things frequently, he had said it was because he got bored with seeing the same thing every day, that it became irritating at times. He'd told her that he would rather listen to jazz any day over the entirety of songs that filled Adelaide's iPod, she'd laughed at the time, but now all she could hear in her mind was a smooth saxophone complimented by a lustrous bass line and calm drums.

The shingles on the roof were cold against Adelaide's feet, she was seated in a fetal position to keep herself from sliding down the slanted roof while she looked off and thought, her cell phone held tightly in her right palm. The Count of Monte Cristo, Lev's favorite book, was the subject of Adelaide's thoughts as she sat atop her home. She'd never read it herself, but from Lev's vague description, it seemed like a book that was worth reading. The city library would surely have it, she thought, she would rent it while she searched for open apartments the next few days.

After the death of her grandfather, Adelaide was given a fairly large sum of money that was appointed to her and Greyson in his will. It was to be used for "college and other living expenses," which fit the bill, in Adelaide's opinion, to finding a place to live for the next year or more. She planned on taking the necessary amount of money out for rent and miscellaneous things until she found a job, after which she would be opening a new account at the city bank and using the money from the second account to live off of. She would be completely independent from her parents.

She would have to get to work on child proofing her apartment for Greyson, of course, who had a mischievous tendency to attempt to eat things such as bleach and cleaning chemicals. He noticed years ago that they were forbidden things for him, making him want them ten times more than normal. He tried to get at them several times a day, failing each time thanks to the genius invention of child protection locks on cupboard doors. Those simple contraptions had saved his life many times.

Adelaide glanced at the clock on her cell phone, it was 1 o'clock in the morning, earlier than she thought it would be. She looked out at the scene once more, taking her time and looking at the shadows cast by the nearly full moon before crawling back into her bedroom via the open window behind her.

Her room seemed warm after being out in the wind, the blankets felt good against her cold skin. She curled up in them, grasping the fluffy comforter in her hands and pulling them around her tightly while she plopped down onto the feather pillows. She dug her face into them, closing her eyes and attempting so sleep. After an hour of trying, she gave up and busied herself with her cell phone, looking through her contacts.

It surprised her to see Lev's name after Lance, an ex boyfriend from sophomore year, and before Lindsey, a member of her church's youth group who Adelaide was once very close to. The number was there when she selected Lev's name, she didn't remember putting his number into her address book, but she didn't question it. She must have forgotten.

Boldly, she opened a new text message addressed to the courtly man and sent it after reading it over a few times, searching for spelling and grammatical errors. _Hey, are you awake?_

After waiting for what seemed an eternity, Adelaide's phone vibrated twice against her stomach. She smiled. _Yes, tonight seems a sleepless night for us both._

Her mind raced with possibly replies. She decided to go the curious route, asking him another question to keep the conversation alive. _What's keeping you up?_

She pressed the end button on her phone, locking it slowly before setting it back down on her stomach as she leaned back against the head board of her bed. She looked to the corner, a spider still spun it's marvelous web there, waiting for flies to stupidly fly into it to their doom. She waited.

The moon reflected off the mirror of Adelaide's vanity, giving her a perfect view of it from her bed. She examined it, glowing in the night sky amongst the silver stars and black treetops. She wondered if Lev was seeing the moon the same way she was.

She snapped her phone off of her stomach mid-vibrate this time, unlocking it with expert fingers to read the message from her suitor. She read over it quickly, laughing a little to herself. _I'm afraid to sleep for fear the boogeyman lives in my closet, of course. _

_Turn on your nightlight, he's scared of nightlights… or so I hear ;) _Adelaide turned on her side, pulling the pillow close to her before setting in, the screen of her cell phone facing her in her hand, ready to reply to Lev's text message the moment it was received.

_Thanks for the advice, I'll be sure to try it._ Adelaide frowned. What kind of reply was that? What could she possibly say to that? She groaned and flipped over to her other side, thinking as quickly as she could for the perfect conversation starter, the conversation was obviously dying down too soon.

_Thanks for today, by the way. _

He replied in a matter of seconds. _Which part? _

_All of it, I guess. You helped me make the most of a bad situation, I really appreciate it._

_You're welcome. I enjoyed myself a lot. I needed a distraction as much as you did._

Adelaide pondered the meanings of that. He could be going through something, too, he could have had something on his mind that he couldn't stop thinking about. Maybe he was having some sort of trouble with something, keeping his house, maybe, or arranging the rooms so they were satisfactory to him. Maybe he was in some sort of pickle, or he was fighting with one of his brothers. Adelaide wondered about his brothers for a moment, if Lev was the oldest or youngest, perhaps the middle child. He seemed like an older sibling to her, but she could also see him as the youngest of three boys. He had something about him that deemed him as the caretaker, the older more mature of brothers.

_Something going on?_

_Nothing I can't handle; trivial things piling up to make one large thing, I guess you could say._

What kind of small things could Lev be worrying about? Maybe things weren't going well where he worked at, he had to work after all. If he could afford to _own_ a house, he must have a good job. Adelaide wondered what he did, thinking through all the possible jobs he could have in the city that would suit his personality. He definitely didn't work at the shabby old restaurant, nor at any of the fancier restaurants. He might own one of them, maybe, or work as a CEO of some major company. Adelaide could see him as one of the suited men who talked on their Bluetooth while waiting in line for the bus, holding a suitcase in one hand and a blackberry in the other.

_I know how that feels. It sucks, I'm here if you need to talk about it, or something._

She knew he would decline. He was a man, after all, and men rarely accepted help in the form of talking with a woman, it seemed to be programmed into their brains not to disclose too much information on their emotional state. She waited for his reply, the nerves calming in her abdominal area only to return full force as soon as the cell phone vibrated. _I'll hold you to that. I might need you one day._

That was unexpected. _Good, I hope you do._

Adelaide realized that he most likely wouldn't reply. She had left him hanging, a complete ender to any conversation. Men never felt compelled to revive a conversation being held through texts, as if they were too good to ask a simple question, or state an interesting fact that would-

_Now, what's keeping you awake?_

"Hmm." Adelaide whispered to her phone, staring at the text she'd just received.

_Restless mind. I can't stop thinking. _

_Penny for your thoughts? To be paid the next time I see you, whether by chance or appointment._

_Appointment, I hope._

_Then we shall make plans. You're avoiding my question, Adelaide._

_So? You've ignored tons of my questions._

It took a while for Lev to reply, Adelaide smiled; she'd stumped him.

_Fine; two very shiny pennies for your thoughts, then. _

_Make it three, and it's a deal._

_Three it is. _

Adelaide searched for something to tell him. There was no way she could tell him what she had really been thinking about throughout the night. Lev's long hair that brushed against his shoulders lightly, falling into his eyes here and there before he brushed them away, his deep, smooth voice that she could listen to for hours, his intellectual conversations that actually made sense; she hadn't had an educated conversation that had made sense in a long time.

_I'm thinking about moving out of my parents house._

_Why's that?_

_An independence thing. You know, 18, searching for who I am, trying to understand the meaning of life, things like that._

_Sounds exciting._

_It should be._

Adelaide fidgeted in her bed again, searching for the perfect position and place in the good sized bed to get comfortable in. Her legs stretched out, arms spread across the mattress, her stomach down, she finally situated into a nice resting spot.

_It will be, moving from your parents house is a wonderful experience._

_When did you move out?_

Again, it took him a while to reply.

_Much sooner than I ever thought I would._

_Were you the first to fly the coop?_

It took five minutes for him to reply this time.

_We all left at once. It's surprising, I know. I suppose you could call it an uprising a stick it to the man situation._

_Now that sounds exciting._

Adelaide thought about how he must have left. The three boys had to be close in age, then, to leave at around the same time. It occurred to Adelaide that she didn't even know how old Lev was, let alone how old his brothers could possibly be.

_Oh, it was._

Another conversation ender. Adelaide sighed.

_So, you and Lori seemed to have gotten pretty close._

_Again with Lori. Don't you have anything better to ask about?_

_Not really._

_Perhaps you should search the depths of your mind and find something. I know you're capable._

Adelaide groaned, he was deflecting again.

_Why don't you ask me something, then? _

_When would you like to go out next?_

He was a direct man, that much was sure. It was refreshing to Adelaide to be involved with a man who wasn't afraid to speak his mind. Were they involved, though? It was a confusing relationship they had. It was fairly clear that he was interested in her, and he must have know that Adelaide was equally interested in him. What kind of woman wouldn't be interested in him? He was everything a woman could want at first glance, and continued to impress after having multiple conversations with him. He seemed like a genuine man that could definitely be the relationship type.

Adelaide thought about this for a while. Sure, Lev was the relationship type of guy, but was she the relationship type of girl? She hadn't been in a real relationship since the beginning of her senior year in high school, when an 8 month relationship ended. She was most definitely over him, though, and was ready to move on. Whether moving on meant short term or long term, Adelaide didn't know, but she had a feeling that Lev was the kind of man who was in it for the long haul once he was invested in something, or someone.

Would she be willing to let him go, though? In all honesty, Adelaide knew that it would hurt to see Lev walking down a neighborhood street with another girl, tasting some wacky twist of ice cream for the first time while they shared an intimate laugh. It would sting, she didn't have a doubt about that.

But he could certainly do more damage if she became involved with him. He was obviously a ladies' man, with a face like that it would be impossible for him not to be. There would be plenty of women after him, she would have to trust him more than she'd ever trusted any man besides her father and brother if they had any hope of working out at all. She didn't know if she was ready for that.

Before she had a chance to reply to his first message, her cell phone went off once more.

_Or will I have to wait until you're in yet another dangerous circumstance to see you again?_

Adelaide couldn't help but giggle.

_No, I'm not sure when we can go out next, to be honest._

_Well, what are you doing right now?_

_You're joking._

_I'm actually quite serious. Look out your window._


	9. Chapter 9

Lev shut his phone, hiding the sideways qwerty keyboard and looked up to Adelaide's window. From the street, his view was limited. Something inside of him knew the exact moment when she had looked out onto the world, seeing him standing there, bold and unafraid. She was helpless against his pull; in a matter of seconds, she was on the roof.

"How am I going to get down?" Adelaide whispered down to him. She had taken the first few minutes to change her risqué pajamas into yoga pants and a t-shirt to brave the chilly night.

"Hmm." Lev muttered, looking around him, his hands in his pockets. He, unlike Adelaide, had been given the proper time to get ready; his dark jeans and green sweater showed he'd been able to change from the button up shirt Adelaide had given him to wear for their walk earlier that evening. It had been loose on him, Greg was a large man, but somehow Lev had looked comfortable in it, like he had worn it thousands of times before. "Jump."

Adelaide laughed. "Are you serious? A little insane, maybe? I'll break my legs."

Lev laughed, now, keeping in mind all of the sleeping families around him; his volume was low, yet the spirit of his chuckle was there full force. Yes, I'd let you break your legs while I stand here and watch. Come, jump and I'll catch you."

He waited, in the dark her fair skin seemed to glow, giving Lev the perfect view of her thin body spider ring down the shingles, moaning and cursing under her breath. He smiled, Adelaide amused him in all ways he could think of. She called for him, summoning him with a beckoning arm going around in circles. Her left hand clutched to the roof nervously, whispering harshly for him to help her. He stayed in the same position and continued to smile.

"Are you going to help me or not?"

"Of course I am."

"Then come and help me, please!"

Still, he stayed. His hands remained in his pockets, a secure grin on his lips, his large shoulders relaxed down his back. His hair fell out of his face while he tilted his head up to look at her struggle, laughing to himself at her frustrations.

"You asked me to come out here."

"No, I told you to look out your window. " He pointed out, raising and lowering his eyebrows. Lev could see her blush as clearly as he would during the day. "Although, I'm glad you did."

Adelaide beamed back at him. "Me too."

They watched each other in silence, Adelaide's nerves rose into her chest with every passing second. Finally, Lev took his hands out from his jeans and outstretched them toward her, spreading his legs slightly to brace himself. "Place your hands on my shoulders as you fall," Lev explained, patting the top of his shoulders, "I will grab your waist and hold you from touching ground too quickly. All I ask of you is to balance yourself."

"All right, can do." She looked down at Lev, questioning his motives as she stood cautiously, extending her arms for balance before stepping off the edge.

A second without firm ground beneath her, Adelaide realized how idiotic she had been. Plummeting to her possible death, Adelaide realize she did not follow Lev's instructions. Instead, she had thrown herself off, her arms flailing this way and that as she screamed, her hair whipping her face and chest.

A firm hand cut her scream short, an arm wrapped around her and pulled her against something warm and soft. Her hands clasps to Lev's chest, pushing off of him to lean backward far enough to see him; his ice colored eyes were all she could see at first. Slowly, her eyes adjusted to see his gentle expression, a suppressed chuckle on his tongue. Hesitantly he lifted his hand off of her lips. "You didn't follow my instruction."

"I wasn't thinking the clearest." Adelaide admitted, her feet touched down to the ground, the grass of the lawn cushioned her.

"You didn't wear shoes, either, I see."

Adelaide looked down at her bare feet in the wet grass, blades working their way between her moving toes. Her gaze followed the contours of Lev's body upward until it reached his adoring stare. His lips, separated in the middle slightly, were curled in a barely noticeable, relaxed smile. His eyes connected to hers, unmoving and intense, his words slithered like snakes off of his tongue. "How will you get into your room again?"

"I don't want to worry about that right now." She whispered, finding she was unable to speak at any louder a volume. Lev's large hands held fast to Adelaide's waist, Adelaide kept her own fingers holding onto the biceps of the muscular man before her. It was difficult to see in the dark night, the moon giving only enough light to see the tops of the trees. Adelaide strained herself to see the face inches from her, the air around them seemed to be getting progressively darker. All she could see, and all she wanted to see, were the commanding blue eyes that were full of raw excitement, as if a rush of adrenaline had just shot through him and was transferring to Adelaide; she could feel her anxiety levels rising, her breath quickened. She took in a deep breath in attempt to calm and smiled widely, her eyes going wild.

Adelaide felt brave, she wanted to tell him everything in that moment; how intimate her thoughts about him were, how much she wanted him to want her, how alluring he was to her. She longed to tell him of the emotions exploding in her stomach, reaching up into her chest and laboring her breathing. She needed to ell him why her grip on him was tightening with every beat her racing heart took. Instead, she settled for watching him watch her for what seemed like an eternity; they had both become content with simply staring at the other.

"I have to tell you something." Lev purred, bringing his masculine hand away from Adelaide's waist to pull a strand of hair out of his face.

"Oh?" Adelaide mumbled.

"Yes, it's quite important." he disclosed, brushing her cheek with the back of his index finger sweetly. "It will clear up a lot of things."

"Then stop beating around the bush," Adelaide suggested, giggling a little. "You're taking this a little slow. I can handle it."

"I know you can." Lev said, trying with all his might not to give into his desire, the rising passion in his abdomen that was threatening to ruin this for him. He needed to tell her, Lucifer would be coming soon. "I suppose I am taking this slowly… You'll have to forgive me." He muttered, their eyes met once again. "I feel the need to speed things up, here.

"After all," he placed his hand back on Adelaide's hips. "Time is of the essence."

"I have no objections." Adelaide murmured, getting to her toes while Lev pulled her closer, bending over her. Adelaide lifted her chin, her eyes closed with a gasp at the electricity circulating through her body, Lev's lips touched hers momentarily and finally, their lips pressed together firmly.

Adelaide's body swooned into his, a wave of vertigo crashing into her, she didn't dare let go. Her hands clutched to his shirt desperately, attempting to keep from falling. His lips tasted so… _Magnificently_. The blood in her veins boiled at how sweet they tasted, a flavor from an exotic land she had never hoped or dreamed of venturing to. She felt her legs buckling, her head tilting up hungrily to maintain connection as her body sagged to the ground drunkenly. Adelaide could feel herself slipping down Lev's body, his long torso extending further as her hands clung to it. She couldn't stop the sinking feeling; it stopped suddenly, though, as she felt Lev's arms wrap fully around her waist, pulling her back up to comfortably meet his lips, pulling her into him as the shock left him. Need flooded into replace it.

Adelaide hadn't ever experienced a kiss like this. She remembered kissing Joey Klark, the pitcher for her school's varsity baseball team; it felt nothing like this. Her embrace with Carson Lingren, the cutest senior her freshman year; it paled in comparison to the complete intoxication of this kiss. Her senses failed, her fingers ran numbly through his layered hair, its lightness astonishing to her. He lifted Adelaide to his level, her toes grazed the ground just slightly as his lips lead hers.

Nirvana hit once their lips had parted, noses still lingering together as the heavy breathing filled each of them; they took in the moment as long as they could. Adelaide didn't know what to say, the words to express the ecstasy she had just felt had yet to be invented, but the silence made her nervous. Lev's breathing returned to a normal pace much quicker than Adelaide's, frustrating Adelaide immensely.

"Now," Lev said, his voice even sweeter now than it had been before. He shifted his weight between his legs as he swayed the two back and forth. There would be plenty of time to tell her what was going to happen to her, he had been silly to try and push it before it was time to reveal all. He would never ruin such a beautiful moment by tainting it with what was to come. "How are we going to get you into your room?"

"I still don't want to think about it." Adelaide's eyes were still closed, her hands had trailed from his chest to his neck by then, her fingers absently tracing the edges of his pine sweater. Lev laughed, his body moving them both while they continued to sway.

"We can't run from it forever."

The words hit them both with the obscenely huge truth. There was so much that neither of them could run from; entirely different things and yet tied together in a way neither of them knew.

Lucifer walked the streets, this body was disgusting to him. It disgusted him that he was forced to take a new shell to walk on the soil of Earth, it disgusted him that his meat-suit was melting away so quickly, it disgusted him that humans had to smell so horrid. The short, black hair of the man he had taken left Lucifer's neck unprotected from the sun, it bothered him deeply. His hands frequently flew to his neck, rubbing gently to keep the sun at bay as much as possible.

Ahh, how nice it would be to walk in the park in his own, true body. It shall be a sight to see! Lucifer swiveled this way and that on his heels, the park was a great place to sit and wait; the stench, however, burned his nostrils. Lucifer debated staying or leaving while he walked to the bench where a young woman sat, bread in her lap, insanely large sunglasses covering half of her face. Lucifer stood in front of her, his body blocking the sun from her. He extended a hand to her.

The lady took it almost immediately, the birds around her chirping and picking at the tiny pieces of bread she had thrown them. Lucifer gave her a lift, helping her up off of the bench. She was a thick girl, Lucifer noticed, a flat stomach but not thin by any means. He examined her, bringing her arm up with his and twirling her underneath his arm to get a better look at her. She would have to do, he sighed. This wasn't how he imagined it.

In his waking dreams, he had seen a beautiful, fair faced young woman in a white dress, her blonde hair curly and her blue eyes innocently looking up at him; she would look much like his darling little girl. She had bare feet, pale skin with plump, rosy cheeks. Instead, he was stuck with this interesting specimen. Of course, had he a little more patience, just a little more time, he would look for something much better; but she would do. This dark, matted haired, smelly woman who had unevenly tanned from the sun would work just as well as a beautiful blonde. She, too, was unspoiled.

The witnesses had risen, the last arrived just the night before. Things were moving along at a delightful speed. Only a few things left to tend to, Lucifer's faithful brothers were taking care of that, though. How helpful they were. Lucifer had grown weary and anxious sitting in that large house alone, however, bringing him here where he walked back up the street with a virtuous, moral woman linking arms with him. He lead her, smiling at her a few times with an admiring gaze.

"Where are we going?" She asked. "Who are you? What are we going to do?"

Lucifer didn't answer any of her questions, not thinking twice about her until he found himself walking up the steps and past the Asian guards. He roared playfully at the statues, bearing his teeth at them, growling lowly before laughing loudly. The woman laughed too, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm exhausted."

"I know, precious." Lucifer hummed. "Not to worry, you shall rest very soon."

Hundreds of bodies floated this way and that, through opened doors and down the spiraling stairs frantically. Lucifer, paying no attention to the many people calling out his name desperately, ignoring the hands that grabbed for him, led his lovely companion down the corridor to the last door in the very long hallway. They stopped, Lucifer turned the woman to face him, his hands on her arms. "Go inside, I shall join you momentarily."

The woman nodded and disappeared behind the doors that lead to the dark room. Lucifer inhaled deeply through his nose, smiling and closing his eyes. So, so close. His long legs took him back to the front room, his children still bustling about wildly. He looked around the room at the many faces, searching for one little lady that he needed above all.

Unable to see her, Lucifer raised his hand to chest height. Immediately, the room stood still.

"Where is my Lilith?" He asked, his words echoing in the silence that followed. "Where is my child?"

No one answered. Lucifer groaned, laughing a little as he threw his head backward in disbelief. They would be no help to him. His head snapped back forward violently, his eyes full of rage and white hot emotion. "Where is my child?"

"She's gone to fetch your Brother, sir." a mousy woman in the corner answered. "She left minutes, maybe seconds ago."

"Which brother." Lucifer demanded, appearing across the room directly in front of the woman in a split second. The hair on the woman's head flew backward.

"Leviathan, I think." She squeaked, stuttering profusely.

Relief flooded into Lucifer. He laughed again, his posture relaxing as he spun on his heel once more, little Lilith had always adored her Uncle Leviathan, just as her uncle had adored her. It would be difficult to part the two, but it was necessary. Leviathan understood that more than anybody.

"Thank you." Lucifer said, bringing his palms together and placing them on his lips while he thought. "I cannot tell you," his eyes narrowed and a smirk pulled past his hands. "Just how much I appreciate your assistance.

"Therefore," Lucifer began, his words booming now over the growing screams and shrieks coming from his children that surrounded him. The floor became riddled with the bodies of Lucifer's children, their blood pooling thickly around them as the stench filled the home. Lucifer chuckled at the priceless expression on the mousy woman's face, the beads of sweat developing on her forehead as she backed against the wall, whispering and muttering to herself. Lucifer placed a gentle palm on her cheek, his eyebrows pulling together and his lips smiling regretfully at her.

A gargled cough came from behind Lucifer, then, the blood bubbled in a fat man's throat as he lay on the floor, dying and unable to stop the process. Lucifer held up his index finger, a small "Oh," leaving his lips before sighing dramatically just as the man died. "Actions speak louder than words, my love, you should be wise to remember that."

"I-" the woman began, not knowing what to say to her one true love. He stood before her, touching her, smiling at her, she had never actually _met_ him before. He was even better than the others had described. "I will." A sick smile tainted her cute face.

"That's my girl." Lucifer said, placing a sweet kiss on her lips before walking to the front doors. "I'm going to gather my daughter, I shall return before the day is out. It has been too long since I've seen my brother, perhaps we shall stay for longer." Lucifer cocked his head in thought while he opened the doors. "I am not certain what we will do."


	10. Chapter 10

The world had taken on a new light. Lucifer felt new, improved, weightless and supreme. He looked around him, his eyes not being blocked in the least, the air that filled his lungs cold and refreshing; something he hadn't felt in a long, long, long time. He laughed, grabbed his brother and shook him, his laughter filling the open air. The large man fell to the ground, creating a ripple in the rock and earth around them. Lucifer jumped, he jumped again, he couldn't stop himself as he continued to leap into he air for a third time, screaming at the top of his lungs until he ran out of breath entirely. When his eyes fell onto his unnaturally graceful brother, he threw himself into the dark haired man's arms. "Do you feel it, Leviathan? Can you feel it?" The joy in Lucifer's voice echoed.

"I feel it, Lucifer." Leviathan groaned, throwing Lucifer out of his arms and away from him as he clutched the roots of his flowing hair roughly, throwing his head back and forth. He stomped forward and stumbled backward, moans and throaty snarls coming from him. "What have we done?"

"We've freed ourselves, my love! We have been given a new life, a life without strings guiding our every move! We are no longer puppets, darling Leviathan, we are-"

"We are _banished_!" Leviathan boomed, Beelzebub getting to his feet.

"We failed, Lucifer." The burly man bent his curly, dirty blond head. "We've lost.."

"No, brother, no!" Lucifer grasped the rock hard jaw of Beelzebub and bent him in order to place a fierce kiss on the brother's forehead. "We have succeeded!"

"This is what you call success!" Leviathan yelled, throwing his arms around, motioning to the emptiness that surrounded them. The silence bore down on them all as Leviathan's words sank into the brothers' skin.

"Yes!" Lucifer yelled back, getting intrusively close to Leviathan's face. "I have brought you to your senses, Leviathan! Show me the respect I deserve!"

"How is it that you deserve my respect when you are incapable of accepting it humbly?" The conversation had gone sour with rapid speed. "You have not earned nor do you deserve my respect." Leviathan began to walk away.

"I have SAVED YOU!" Lucifer screamed after him, the clouds in the sky darkening as lightning flashed in the distance.

Leviathan thrust himself around to face his enraged brother. The oceans behind the cliffs began to create waves of enormous proportions. "YOU HAVE DAMNED ME!"

Beelzebub all but blinked and his beloved brothers had locked onto each other, each being thrown up and down against the terrain that encased them. One instant, Lucifer had Leviathan pinned to he ground, his fist cocked back for only a moment before Leviathan flipped the two. Leviathan grasped Lucifer's chest, the fabric of his blouse in Leviathan's palms as he threw Lucifer into the trunk of a nearby tree, shattering it instantly. The two men faltered over the jagged stump, each clutching to the other. Beelzebub ran to them, reaching the battle in a split second, his unearthly large hands grabbing both of the men by the back of their shirts and pried them apart; the two men flew in opposite directions from the force of the third brother's throw.

Lucifer snarled as Leviathan hissed, each of them slowly advancing from the disaster they had caused during their landings. "Cease this child's play;" Beelzebub commanded, his voice like thunder as the lightning overhead clapped powerfully, the drops falling from the sky coming from the oceans instead of the clouds. "Immediately."

Leviathan and Lucifer reached their brother in time, each still geared and ready to engaged once more at a moment's notice. Beelzebub looked at each of them, the anger between them sizzling and dying. "The others will be coming, a display such as this will not be left unexplored." Beelzebub forced a smile as he saw Lucifer and Leviathan for the first time.

Leviathan's usually clean cut appearance had been shattered. His hair, sticking out in many odd places and sticking to his face and neck, was black with dirt from the wet ground. His clothing was torn and barely covering his exposed, dirty, wet skin.

Lucifer, calm, serene Lucifer looked as if hit by a tornado. His clothing, similarly to Leviathan's, was torn and dishelmed. His porcelain skin was scratched, his hair blotted with small, red drops.

"Make peace, brothers." Beelzebub stated, placing a hand on each of his brothers' shoulders and pushing them closer together. "We must stay strong together, for our brotherhood is the only thing we may cherish."

Lucifer glared into Leviathan's blue eyes, the carbon copy of his own delightful irises, each man breathing heavily and licking their wounds silently as their brother spoke. A major victory was to be had, why couldn't Leviathan see that?

But there was nothing Lucifer could do. Beelzebub was correct, the three of them needed to remain a strong, impenetrable force. If all that was needed to make Lucifer's dream a reality was to tolerate his brother Leviathan, to avoid him if necessary, then Lucifer should do just that without conflict.

And yet, would it be sheer toleration? Lucifer admired Leviathan, his intelligence, his skill for solving intricate problems with a seemingly perfect solution. Their Father had used Leviathan frequently, he was nearly as special to their Father as Lucifer had been…

Leviathan was symbology, everything about him was solid and sure; he was everything that Lucifer valued made into a living being, Leviathan was everything Lucifer could have wanted. Leviathan was perfect. Lucifer stood straight, holding his breath in order to keep from screaming again. Reluctantly, he let down his guard.

Minutes of anticipation passed, Leviathan held his defensive stance. Lucifer and Beelzebub waited as patiently as they could, each growing increasingly nervous. Finally, Leviathan sighed and stood straight as Lucifer did. He smiled exhaustedly at his brother who mirrored the expression just as a group of fallen angels entered the battlefield, gasps of awe and disbelief coming from them.

They had assumed the angels followed the three kings down from Heaven in a attempt to kill them and finish it once and for all; they had assumed the angels had failed. The three brothers, knowing that sharing the truth of what had happened would surely divide their army, had decided to keep the events immediately after the fall to themselves, creating yet another unbreakable bond between them.

Lucifer had recovered within days, Leviathan and Beelzebub a week, while it took the others weeks, even months to return to their former selves. Lucifer watched as his brothers and sisters slowly turned bland and grey, sickly things that, eventually, could not lift their heads or open their mouths to speak; useless to Lucifer. Beelzebub and Leviathan, along with himself, seemed the only ones immune to the mysterious plague hitting his army, their numbers dwindled much too quickly. Lucifer was faced with an impeccable doom.

He would be alone, soon enough they would all be gone, and he would be left with his two brothers. He paced up and down his room night after night searching for the answer; what was happening to his brothers? What was happening to his sisters? It broke his heart to see them in such a weakened state, so, so alone.

Leviathan had been gone for much too long. It was disheartening for Lucifer to have to send him away, to send him to poison Adam and Eve, to send him to ultimate exile and humiliation at the hands of their Father. No one had seen him prior to embarking on this mission of the utmost importance. All that was known was that Leviathan had succeeded; generation after generation had been corrupted thanks to Lucifer's darling brother. He was missed dearly.

No problems had been solved by thinking of the lost Leviathan. Lucifer frequently reminded himself of this grim reality, his thoughts always trailing back to his missing brother. In his absence, Lucifer had come to realize just how much he treasured his younger brother, he longed to see him again.

Lucifer, if capable, would have left his dying brothers and sisters all too willingly to search for Leviathan. "Alas, my Leviathan," Lucifer whispered to himself every evening, looking off the balcony of his mansion home, "our Father has cast me from Heaven and locked me in this… cage." A cage that was horrid and raunchy, one that was placed in a world that Lucifer despised. What a lowly world it truly was.

But Lucifer banished his lost brother from his mind and began thinking on the problem at hand once more, when it hit him.

His brothers and sisters had fallen from grace, they were wasting away because they had lost their light. They were high beings in lowly world; perhaps all Lucifer needed was a lowly being.

In an hour's time Lucifer had begun his experiments. A little boy first, he was thirteen years of age and a strong boy compared to others. His large stature would be suitable, but he had died much too soon, he hadn't lasted nearly long enough.

Lucifer had taken a fully grown man next, he too had died much too soon. Lucifer was slowly becoming more disgusted, humans were even more pathetic than he thought. Until he saw her.

She was working with the cattle one day, her bare little feet causing the dirt that had settled to rise up in clouds everywhere she stepped. The tails of her white dress were dirty from dirt; Lucifer had wondered how they had gotten the dress so pure in the first place. Her blonde hair was curly and bounced as she walked next to her older sister; the older girl was no where near as perfect as the younger. Lucifer watched her for years as she grew to be a blossoming young woman. Lucifer wanted her so badly.

On her tenth birthday, Lucifer took her. Her name Lucifer did not know, he did not care, the many years of seeing her grow had given him time to develop the perfect name for her; Lilith.

His baby girl Lilith, she had survived. He had twisted and turned and killed her precious soul and made her a new being, he had made her as a father makes and nurtures a daughter; he had made his very first demon, and he loved her.

Her once blue eyes that were the color of her father's had turned black, a drastic contrast to her nearly white curls. She had a lust for killing that Lucifer was proud of, he was amazed at what she was capable of. She had grown so much in such a small amount of time, soon she had performed her first demonic possession. Lucifer overflowed with pride.

She had filled the void in Lucifer's unbeating heart. Her child's hands, when held tightly in Lucifer's, erased all of his doubts. The kisses she innocently placed on Lucifer's lips and cheeks elated him. Her simple words and phrases made his spirits soar. Her murders made him beam. His little monster gave him hope; He could win this war yet.

With the help of darling Lilith, Lucifer began to rebuild his diminished army, turning the souls of humans into disturbing new things; it had taken him a century to build an army that matched his original. His methods simply took too much precious time. It was necessary to develop a new way of doing things.

Lucifer knew that his power and his children's' powers were being wasted. They were capable of many things, the most important and vital skill in Lucifer's new plan would be deceit, and soon after, Lucifer began making deals with the humans, giving them what they desired most. In return, he would receive their very souls. His numbers doubled in a year.

Lilith's mind was far beyond the other demons'. Though trapped in the body of an adolescent, she had a mind filled with the knowledge of 300 years, she was conniving and youthful. Her child's charm brought many new recruits, her pure smile and deathly eyes brought humans to their knees; giving their souls for almost nothing. Lilith's demons came to her only years after their deal, a feet no other demon possessed. She had in her everything Lucifer valued. Lilith was perfect.

And he could not deny her anything. Lilith wanted with such a ferocity that Lucifer could barely tend to her every need, she aimed high, and Lucifer admired this in her. She asked for a new body, Lucifer taught her how to take one. Her first host was a curvatious servant girl with long, red hair that laid flat down her back. Lilith enjoyed spinning in circles to see the ends of her new, exotic hair. Her black eyes watched her adult limbs with a wonder that made her seem a child again.

Lilith soon grew a need for companionship. She had taken on many husbands, each becoming princes of the new empire before Lilith had tired of them and Lucifer had disposed of them. Lilith, the fiery red headed woman, had realized after centuries that she wanted an animal.

Lucifer had offered her the lions and elephants his Father had created, Lilith had no draw to them, she cast them aside without a second glance. There was one beast she wanted, the wild and untamed large black cats that tore the ignorant humans apart with a ruthlessness that could not be controlled; just what Lilith desired. And so, Lucifer brought the jungle cats to Hell and condemned them to live among the demons and breed, creating a population of Lucifer's first Hell Hounds.

Lucifer had lived in peace, his brother's disappearance slowly fading from his mind; it was known to him that if anything should happen to Leviathan, Lucifer would know immediately. Leviathan must be breathing still, Lucifer thought, for I have felt nothing.

It came one day, with Lilith at his right and Beelzebub at his left, Lucifer had felt his insides catch fire. He doubled over, screaming as Beelzebub crashed over his thrown backward, the two writhing in pain. The sensations that flooded and vibrated through the brothers' skin was unbearable, Lucifer thought he was dying during this experience that had lasted three long, grueling days.

The two high kings of the newly formed kingdom of Hell had been forced to remain in bed, unrelenting pain crippling them and turning them mute. Lilith sat at her father's bedside, his hand between her palms, tears flowing silently down her cold, stone face.

Lucifer's eyes were unblinking, his breath shallow and sharp as his mind was being attacked. He could hear Beelzebub's grunts and gasps from across the room, all he could see was the black canopy over his extravagant bed frame. He was confused and, for the first time since the fall, he was scared.

Visions of the sea haunted his dreams and interrupted his sight of dear Lilith. Lucifer worried and was sick for his brother; all he wanted was Leviathan as he lay helpless in the covers and comforts of his daughter who never left his side. Lucifer longed to go and aid his brother in whatever was happening to him, he begged Leviathan to hear his words. "I will save you, my love…"

Perhaps it was some sort of bond the two shared that made Lucifer more sickly than Beelzebub. Lucifer suffered more than he had ever suffered during those three days, but it was the ensuing days in which Lucifer was miserable. The pain had stopped, the visions had stopped. Lucifer, as well as Beelzebub, was forced to assume that their beloved brother, their hearts, souls, and beings, had died.

Lucifer abandoned Lilith in his sorrow, he abandoned his children and accompanied Beelzebub on his search for Leviathan in a host shell, for it was the only way Lucifer knew of in which he was able to leave his cage. For years they watched and listened for their brother, their search had proved to be in vain for nearly 100 years. It was when they saw the great beast, dry and stained with blood on the beaches of what was known as Greece, that they knew for certain that Leviathan was dead.

They sat in silent mourning. Lucifer fell to his knees, looking upon the deceased, astonishing thing before him. It was a size incomparable to anything Lucifer had ever seen. Its silvery-blue scales reminded him of the clouds, the pure souls of his dead brothers and sisters; somehow, they reminded him so much of Leviathan. "We must resurrect him." Lucifer heard Beelzebub state from behind him. The sea pulled up over the sand, it wetted Lucifer's legs and hands while he absorbed Beelzebub's notion.

"To save him," Lucifer groaned, closing his eyes and thinking through his limitless knowledge. He knew that which he must give to have his brother by his side again. "We must make sacrifice."

Beelzebub, in his loathing of the red haired vixen Lucifer adored so dearly, walked to his broken brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Your love for the creature Lilith has clouded your sensitivity for our brother, Lucifer." He lifted his chin stubbornly, looking down on his mighty older brother. "Perhaps he might live if you had not forgotten him."

Lucifer whipped around, in a instant he was standing, chest puffed and bumped against Beelzebub's stomach boldly. Lucifer stood as tall as he could, still he was at least a foot shorter than Beelzebub. His presence, however, loomed over Beelzebub intensely, causing the man to fall to the ground in fright of what his brother may do. "I have not forgotten Leviathan. I shall never forget Leviathan. Never. Do not make the mistake of thinking otherwise again, dearly beloved, for I shall _not_ allow you to speak in such ways again. Speak against me, love, and you shall never speak again."

Beelzebub did not dare speak for hours. The two stared at each other, Lucifer glaring with an anger that Beelzebub feared more than anything on Earth, Heaven, and Hell. "Prove your love for him, Lucifer. Give your oldest daughter for him, show our Father your love."

And Lucifer, knowing that if he denied Beelzebub and himself of Leviathan the two would fall just as their brother had, gave his oldest daughter for his loved brother. Lilith, upon hearing that she would be made into a seal to allow her father to walk on Earth once again, willingly and happily accepted. Her loyalty would be the downfall of her.

Lucifer sat awake at night many times, staring at the dark walls in wonder if he had done the right thing, wondering what his true motives were. He had waved it off, saying he brought Leviathan back for his devotion to his brothers, that he needed Leviathan to continue his dream, but still he wondered.

Lucifer had suffered in ways he never wanted to suffer again because Leviathan was not in his life. Lilith had aided in the transition from life with to life without Leviathan, yet Lucifer knew that the aching in his abdomen was caused by the lack of contact with his life line, his brother, his obsession.

Nine years passed while Lucifer pondered this, Leviathan being tended to by Lucifer's most trusted children. The army continued to grow until it became an empire. Lucifer hadn't met most of his children, he had no wish to. His demons, once beautiful and perfect, were becoming dingy and gross, their actions had no purpose, they were less like their father every day. Their chaos had no meaning, the destruction for pleasure alone. Their devotion, however, remained the same. Each demon, whether they had met Lucifer or not, would do anything for him. They had killed in his name, they convinced humans that their father was their savior. Lucifer was blind to the world around him for those nine years, allowing his children to run amuck without discipline.

In the escapades of the demons, without whips at their backs to keep them from acting in disgraceful ways, many useful weapons were made for Lucifer. After the government of Hell had been made, Lucifer looked at Earth to see the single most invigorating thing he had ever experienced.

There were followers, worshippers, lovers that gave themselves to him so willingly as others gave themselves to Lucifer's Father. His stature had gone from angel to God, he was finally equal to his Father in his eyes. The demons had born witches, their practices of dark magic gifted to them by the demons gave Lucifer power he would have never imagined. With every spell the witches cast, they gave Lucifer power.

Lilith backed into the shadows as she watched her father grow, his strength becoming imaginable, his visits to her becoming scarce. Her jealousy rose every time she watched her one love disappear behind the comatose Leviathan's door.

Lucifer remembered the night Leviathan awoke as he walked down the roads of the park he had been in only hours before. He was alone this time, his search for a suitable virgin had come to a close, she was waiting for him in his chambers. Lilith, silly girl. What an untamable child she was, changing her host every week, now. It would be difficult to find her with so many of his children in the area, but it would not take long. Leviathan would feel her coming and alert Lucifer, perhaps it wouldn't be so difficult.

The city was slowly going to Hell. Lucifer laughed openly as he thought this, realizing how true his thoughts really were. As he looked around, though, he noted how disgusting the humans had made this once monumental place. The previously mighty buildings were eroding from the abuse the humans delivered. The vegetation, once green grass and tall trees, had been replaced with cement roads and dumpsters that the homeless and infected prostitutes hid behind. Lucifer rolled his eyes and brushed his long hair out of his eyes. How unfortunate.

While the city was stunted, Lucifer had come so far. He straightened his back and walked in a proud strut down the inhabited streets. In a short amount of time, he would be able to walk down this same street with his own body, his own agenda plainly written on his face. It would say "I am going to kill you, and you cannot stop me."

The horsemen had done such a wonderful job on the world. The war in Iraq raged, the lack of necessities killing much of the world's population, the hurricanes and earthquakes hit more and more frequently. Death had taken a liking to the public eye, Lucifer noticed. The celebrities the world adored so much were falling to the ground one by one, one after another they came to their maker's hands; some came to Lucifer's home. He laughed at the poetic aura of it all.

It was delightful seeing the world again. His sight, although blurred by his suit's inferior eyes, entertained him as he walked down the public sidewalks, the ladies in short, leather skirts and obscene tops stopping him, offering him the ride of his life. Lucifer declined rather quickly, he was already experiencing the ride of his life.

It had begun long ago, when he first stepped foot on Earth. It had begun when Lucifer was reborn into the almighty being he was now. No temptation of the flesh could satisfy him in the way completion of his ultimate goal would. No dirty street whore could please him as seeing the world in flames would. He laughed at their offers kindly, waving them away without missing a step.

Lev shut the door of his small house and smiled. It was six o'clock in the morning, he was exhausted, but somehow he felt more spry than he would if he had slept the night away. He was aware of the sultry, exotic woman sprawled on his couch, he paid her no attention. His footsteps brought him to the kitchen, the granite counter tops holding what he was looking for. Grabbing a red apple out of a displayed fruit bowl, Lev took a bite and entered the living room.

He leaned against the archway that connected the kitchen and living room, staring down at the cream sectional couch where the night-eyed woman laid on her back, her blonde, highlighted hair falling off the side of the couch in waves. Her long, thin arms stretched out over her head, the form fitting black v-neck top pulling up over her belly button as she expanded. The waist line of her dark skinny jeans hit below her hip bones, exposing a unnecessary amount of skin. The dangling bracelets around her wrists clanged and twanged as she rubbed her hands together and laced her fingers. Her elegant legs, the left stretched the length of the couch while the right bent at the knee, were elongated by the strikingly red stiletto heels. Her seductive eyes looked at him from underneath her long lashes. She pulled her voluptuous lips over her teeth in a smile.

"Long night." She said.

"How long have you been here?" Lev took another bite out of the juicy apple.

"A good three hours, at least." Her voice was high pitched and bouncy, her vowels curved and rounded. "Where have you been?"

"Not home, obviously." Lev winked at her. She giggled.

"Keep your secrets, then." The woman used her stomach muscles to pull herself upward, her hands remaining above her head sensuously as her hair fell down around her back and sizable breasts, her bangs falling in her face. Lev rolled his eyes.

"What are you doing here" He asked, his tone more that of a statement than a question.

"Am I not allowed to come and see you?" She asked, her lower lip pouting out as she dropped her hands down in a defeated fashion. "Maybe I've just missed you."

"I wish I believed you." Lev launched off the wall and took a large chunk out of the apple as he sat on the other side of the couch, propping his feet on the glass top coffee table.

"It's the truth."

"Now I am not the only one keeping secrets."

"Think what you want. I'm here to see you."

"I of all people know not to believe a word that comes out of your pretty little mouth."

The woman smirked, her eyes like a cats, predatory and raw. "It is pretty, isn't it."

"Darling." Lev admitted, raising the hand with the apple while he considered something, looking upward as his lips pursed in his thoughts. "Although, when I think of what you must have done to the poor woman that body really belongs to, it doesn't seem as comely any more."

"You're bitter." The woman sighed, bringing her legs around to hang off of the cushion and connect with the floor. "You've been in the same body for as long as I've known you."

"I'm quite happy with my appearance, thank you." Lev explained, taking another bite before throwing the unfinished apple in a garbage across the room. "I find it suits me much better than any other body could."

"To each his own, I suppose." She said, reaching her arms over the back of the sofa.

"I'll ask again," Lev took his legs off of the table. "Why are you here?"

"I miss you." She said, her words solid.

"Does your father know you're here?"

"Does yours?" The woman winked, her mouth opening in a sassy way, her tongue clicking against her teeth. Lev grinned politely at her.

"Keep your secrets, then." Lev said, quoting her mockingly. "I'm sure he will be arriving soon enough."

Lev stood, taking long strides toward his bedroom door down a small hall. "Hope your girlfriend doesn't show up when he's here." Leviathan stopped.

"She's not my girlfriend." The darkness of the corridor seemed to absorb Lev's sentence and make it sound more pitiful than it was. He could hear the woman laughing in the living room.

"Practically." He heard her heels clicking against the floor to come toward him. Her hands touched his back, her fingers running down and around his torso to end around his hips, she embraced him from behind with her cheek resting against his shoulder blades. "I don't think fraternizing with that which is destined to be destroyed isn't a very good idea. You could get hurt." Her grip around him tightened lovingly.

"I would hardly call my relationship with her a fraternization." Lev craftily maneuvered out of the woman's grasp and continued to walk to his door. Before retreating into his bedroom, he turned and looked at her standing there in the hall. "If you need anything, I'll be just a shout away. Don't do anything to hurt yourself, darling. Your father would never forgive me if anything happened to you while you're under my watch. There are cookies in the cupboard, milk is in the fridge. If you need help with reaching the cups, knock on my door. I'll always be happy to help."

The woman's frustration was obvious. Lev smiled sarcastically at her, raising his eyebrows suggestively. He opened his mouth once more before closing the door. "Anything for my little girl."


End file.
